At Expert Gardener®, we respect the privacy of our users and customers. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information received through our website and retail stores. Please read this policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your personal data.
Collection of Personal Information
Expert Gardener® may collect certain personal information from you when you visit our website or make purchases in-store. This includes:
- Contact details – such as your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number when you create an account, make an online purchase, submit an inquiry, register for our newsletter, enter a contest, or interact with us through the website or stores.
- Payment information – such as your payment card number, expiration date, and billing address when you make a purchase with us online or in our retail stores.
- Demographic data – such as your age, gender, location, and interests when you create an account, make a purchase, or respond to surveys.
- Website usage data – such as pages you have visited, search terms you used, videos you watched, links you clicked, and other actions taken on the website. This is generally collected through cookies and web beacons.
- Correspondence – if you contact us through the website, email, over the phone, or through social media, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
We aim to collect only the minimum personal information needed to deliver orders, provide customer service, and improve your shopping experience. You have the option to provide additional information if desired, such as creating an online account, but it is not required.
Use of Personal Information
The personal information Expert Gardener® collects is used responsibly to:
- Process and fulfill orders
- Respond to customer inquiries and requests for information
- Administer contests, sweepstakes or surveys
- Analyze website traffic patterns and usage
- Personalize your shopping experience and recommend relevant products and services
- Contact customers about special offers, new products, and other marketing communications in accordance with preferences
- Manage loyalty reward programs
- Detect and prevent fraud, abuse or unlawful activities
We only process personal information for the purposes outlined in this policy or otherwise disclosed to you – we do not sell or rent customer data. Anonymous, aggregate information may be used to improve our offerings.
Sharing of Personal Information
Expert Gardener® does not share your personal information with third parties except in these limited circumstances:
- With service providers under contract who help fulfill orders, provide customer service, manage databases or perform other essential activities on our behalf. These third parties are restricted from using the data for other reasons.
- To comply with legal obligations as may be required by applicable laws, court orders or government authorities.
- To enforce our Terms of Use, prevent fraud, and protect the security of our users, ourselves, and others.
- In connection with the sale, assignment, or other transfer of Expert Gardener® business entities or assets to a third party acquirer. Personal information would be one of the transferred assets.
We do not sell or rent your personal information to third party marketers or data brokers under any circumstance.
Protection of Personal Information
Protecting your privacy is important to Expert Gardener®. We follow reasonable precautions to keep your personal information secure and require any third party service providers to do the same. Some ways we help safeguard data include:
- Encrypting sensitive financial data transmitted through our website using SSL/TLS protocols.
- Storing personal information on secure servers behind firewalls to help prevent unauthorized access and use.
- Requiring passwords for access to individual accounts and protecting passwords with one-way encryption.
- Using multi-factor authentication for accounts and admin access to systems where personal data may be accessed or modified.
- Restricting internal access to personal information to authorized staff members who require it carry out their job.
- Backing up data securely so disruption of IT systems does not result in loss or compromise of personal information.
- Maintaining physical security over facilities where personal data is stored.
While we follow robust measures to protect data, no security precautions are 100% guaranteed against compromise or loss. We will notify any impacted users in the event of a breach involving personal information as required by law.
Online Analytics and Advertising
To provide an optimized shopping experience, Expert Gardener® uses common third-party web analytics services on our website like Google Analytics. These services use cookies and similar technologies to analyze site traffic patterns and measure website performance. We also use cookie-based advertising tools like Google Ads to deliver relevant promotions to users who have previously visited our website.
Users can opt out of Google Analytics data collection or Google Ad personalization using these tools:
- Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
- Google Ads Settings
Opting out does not prevent you from visiting our website or affect your user experience, but simply limits the data those providers collect.
Third Party Links
For convenience, Expert Gardener® website may contain links to various third party websites that we do not own or control, such as social media sites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content on any third party sites. If you click on a third party link, you leave our website and the privacy protections described here no longer apply. We recommend examining the privacy policies on all third party sites to understand their data collection practices.
Children’s Privacy
The Expert Gardener® website is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children without parental consent. If you believe your child has submitted their information without your approval, please contact us and we will take appropriate measures to investigate and address the issue.
Your Data Rights & Choices
At Expert Gardener®, we aim to be transparent about the personal data we collect and give users meaningful privacy choices. You have the following rights regarding your personal information:
Access or Update – You may review and update personal information by logging in to your online account or contacting customer service.
Opt-out of Communications – You can opt out of marketing emails by clicking unsubscribe in any promotional message sent by Expert Gardener® or by adjusting contact preferences in your account.
Data Deletion – You may request deletion of your personal data by contacting us and we will comply unless there is a legal reason we need to keep it (e.g. for order fulfillment, tax purposes). Deleting your account removes associated personal information.
Obtain a Copy – In many regions, you have a right to request a portable electronic copy of the personal data we have collected from you. Contact us to initiate this request.
Data Corrections – If any of the personal information we hold is inaccurate, you have the right to request correction of incorrect or outdated information about you.
Complaints – You may file a complaint about our data practices by contacting your regional data protection authority. We are committed to working with the appropriate regulatory authorities to resolve any complaints that may arise.
If you have questions or concerns about our collection or use of personal data, please contact our Data Protection Officer.
We will make every reasonable effort to honor user requests under applicable data protection laws. We aim to keep personal information only as long as needed for business or legal purposes.
Changes to this Policy
Expert Gardener® may periodically make changes to this Privacy Policy as business needs require. Any updates will be reflected here, so please check back periodically. If major changes are made, we may elect to notify users through email or by prominently posting a notice on our website. Continued use of our website or services after any changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.