Legal policiesfor

retail stores

While online shopping is more popular (1) than ever these days and is showing no sign of slowing down, physical retail stores are still an important and integral part of our shopping experience.

If you operate a retail store where you're selling physical items to the public, either in person or via an ecommerce website as well, you'll need a series of legal agreements in place.

Online stores can accomplish this by including links to their legal agreements on their websites and within their mobile apps.

(1) https://termsfeed.com/blog/how-return-policy-affect-customer-retention/

Note how Apple (2) includes numerous links to a range of its legal agreements within the footer section of its web pages:

(2) http://www.apple.com/

Retail stores may encounter customers who ask a sales associate or other in-person store employee for some legal information while shopping, such as what the store’s return policy is (3), or what the payment terms are when paying with a store credit card versus cash.

If you don’t want to have an ecommerce store where users can shop for your goods online, you can still create a simple website solely for hosting the legal agreements and sharing them with your shoppers who may wish to read them.

(3) https://termsfeed.com/blog/sample-return-policy-ecommerce-stores/

List of legal policies for stores

Regardless of how you provide these agreements to your customers, and regardless of whether your business has only a retail store or both a retail and online store, your business may need the following legal agreements:

- Privacy Policy- Terms and Conditions- Return/Refund Policy

Privacy Policy

If your business collects any personal information from shoppers - email addresses or phone numbers, or whether your physical store asks shoppers for an email address in person when they’re completing their transaction at the registers - you'll most likely need to have a Privacy Policy agreement.

If you ask users for an email address, make sure that any emails you send them has a link to your Privacy Policy, as well as a method for unsubscribing (4).

(4) https://termsfeed.com/blog/how-use-privacy-policies-email-newsletters/

Here's the footer section at the bottom of every email that Shopko (5) sends to customers who have provided their email addresses for Shopko's email newsletter. Note how the link to their Privacy Policy (6) is conspicuously placed:

(5) http://www.shopko.com/(6) http://www.shopko.com/category/Customer-Help/Privacy-Policy/pc/2198/2208.uts

(7) http://www.walmart.com/(8) http://corporate.walmart.com/privacy-security/walmart-privacy-policy

Ecommerce stores generally include links to the Privacy Policy agreements right when the user is prompted to enter her/his email address.

Walmart’s website (7) lets users sign up for email alerts about sales and promotions. Right next to the "Sign up" button is a link to the Walmart Privacy Policy (8). This makes it easy for users to notice and access the agreement:

Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions agreements are very helpful for protecting your business (9) and letting customers know what is expected of them.

For ecommerce stores, these agreements (10) typically include clauses that give a business the right to terminate an account with a customer if certain conditions aren’t met or if violations occur, and that limit the way a customer can interact with the business.

(9) https://termsfeed.com/blog/draft-limitation-exclusion-liability-clauses/(10) https://termsfeed.com/blog/an-ecommerce-business-needs-terms-conditions/

Include a link to your Terms and Conditions somewhere where a customer can easily find it, such as in the website footer, as seen below with Shopko’s Online Terms (11) linked in the footer located on every page of the website:

(11) http://www.shopko.com/online-terms

Here's an example from the back of a John Lewis (12) gift card that lists out the different "Terms" of the card, including information about how and where the card can be used, what happens in the event that the card is lost or stolen, expiration information, and a link to the full Terms and Conditions (13) that’s available online:

(12) http://www.johnlewis.com/(13) http://www.johnlewis.com/customer-services/information-about-our-terms-and-conditions

Return/Refund Policy

Return and Refund Policies (14) can differ drastically from store to store, from no refunds whatsoever, so full refunds up to years after purchase, and everything in between.

While returns/refunds aren’t legally required (in the US; UK, Europe can have different requirements (15)) unless there's an actual misrepresentation by the business about the product, many businesses offer the ability to return an item for a refund out of a customer courtesy, and to attract and keep customers.

(14) https://termsfeed.com/blog/sample-return-policy-ecommerce-stores/(15) https://termsfeed.com/blog/how-return-policy-affect-customer-retention/

Old Navy (16) also includes return information on its receipt and references OldNavy.com website to find other terms and conditions and complete details on the policy.

Examples

(16) http://oldnavy.gap.com/(17) http://www.gap.com/customerService/info.do?cid=81264&m-

A customer will be taken to a very useful section about returning and exchanging items purchased on the Gap website (17):

Return Exchange PolicySELECT STORES Merchandise with a receipt may be returned at anytime for the original form of payment for price paid or you may apply price paid towards a merchandise exchange. Other terms and conditions apply. See complete details in any Old Navy Store or online at oldnavy.com.

ON deals, news, and fun!Like us: www.facebook.com/oldnavyFollow us: www.twitter.com/oldnavyEmail alerts: www.oldnavy.comMobile alerts: Text OLDNVY to 653689to receive the latest Old Navy news each

Returning or exchanging items bought online

We hope you love what you ordered. But in case you don't — perhaps it’s a little too big or the style just isn't you — we'll send you a new size, color, or style, or issue you a quick refund. Returns and exchanges are free when you use our prepaid return shipping label or when you return in store. You have up to 45 days to return items purchased at Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic. Items purchased from Ath-lete may be returned at any time. Full details of all our return polices can be found on our 'Return Policies' page:

To return items by mailTo exchange items by mailTo return or exchange items in a storeTo return or exchange items purchased from more than one brand To create a mailing label for a return

Warranty Disclaimer

If you’re a manufacturer of what you sell in your store or online store, you may be legally required to uphold some warranties to your customers regarding the fitness of your goods.

However, if you’re a reseller of goods that you do not manufacture, you have the ability to disclaim all warranties on the goods you sell, including any implied warranty.

This is important to do as a reseller so that you can’t be held legally liable for manufacturing defects or issues, or customer expectations that go unmet.

Ecommerce businesses tend to include this type of information within a clause towards the end of their Terms and Conditions agreement.

Walmart (18) includes the following disclaimer in its Terms of Use (19). All warranties, express or implied, are disclaimed on both the website and mer-chandise, and an ‘As Is” notice is given:

Example

(18) http://www.walmart.com/(19) http://help.walmart.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8/~/walmart.com-terms-of-use

20. DISCLAIMER THIS SITE IS PROVIDED BY WALMART ON AN °AS IS° AND °AS AVAILABLE° BASIS. WALMART MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIN, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF THE WALMART SITES OR THE INFORMATION, CON-TENT, MATERIALS, OR PRODUCTS INCLUDED ON THE WALMART SITES. TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE BY APPLICABLE LAW, WALMART DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MER-CHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YVALMART DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, FOR ANY MERCHANDISE OFFERED ON THE WALMART SITES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE, BY YOUR USE OF THE WALMART SITES, THAT YOUR USE OF THE WALMART SITES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THIS DISCLAIMER DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY PRODUCT WARRANTY OFFERED BY THE MANUFACTURER OF THE ITEM. THIS DISCLAIMER CONSTITUTES AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THIS AGREEMENT. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON HOW LONG AN IMPLIED YVARRANTY LASTS, SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.