Cookie Policy
Cookies
Just like other websites, our sites use cookies and similar technologies such as web beacons, pixel tags, and flash objects. These allow our websites to work correctly, and helps us understand web traffic and how our sites are used so we can improve visitors experience, personalise services and tailor ads.
What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small text file that may be placed on your device when you visit our sites. When you next visit our websites, the cookie allows us to distinguish your device from other users’ devices.
Why do we use cookies?
- To allow our websites to work and help keep them safe and secure e.g. to load images and to allow you to log in securely.
- To improve the performance of our websites by helping us analyse how they are used and understand which parts work well, and which don't.
- To improve visitors experience on our websites, for example we use cookies to remember the products you’ve put in your basket, make personalised recommendations and to personalise your experience.
- To deliver relevant online advertising to visitors on our websites and third party websites. These cookies are placed by us and selected third parties and enable advertisements to be presented on our and third party websites.
- To understand how effective our online advertising communications are.
What cookies do we use?
Depending on who owns the cookie, they are classified as:
- First-party cookies: These are created by the website (domain) you are visiting.
- Third-party cookies: These are created by domains other than the one you are visiting. They allow tracking across different sites to help deliver services, and also to retarget and show ads to you.
Depending on the lifespan of the cookie, they are classified as:
- Persistent cookies: Persistent cookies remain on your device over a longer period of time defined by the owner of the cookie and are deleted manually or automatically afterwards.
- Session cookies: Session cookies remain on your device only until you close your browser, then they are automatically deleted.
Depending on the purpose of the cookie, they are classified as:
- Essential cookies: Essential cookies are technical cookies that are required for the operation of our websites. Without these our sites can’t operate properly. Examples include, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas, allow images to load, and orders to be processed.
- Experience cookies: Experience cookies allow our websites to:
- Recognise and count the number of visitors, and to see how they move through the website. This helps us to better understand and improve the way our sites work.
- Remember the choices you make, providing you with better and more personalised features. For example, to compare the choices you make to those of our other visitors so that we can learn from those choices and provide enhanced, more personalised features to you, such as product recommendations.
- Advertising cookies: Advertising cookies record your visits to our websites, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We use this information to:
- Help make the advertising displayed on our websites and certain third party websites more relevant to your interests.
- Limit the number of times that you see an ad.
- Help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.
If you would like to find out more about the specific cookies we use, please use the Contact Us tab above to let us know.
Your right to refuse cookies and what happens if you refuse them
When visiting the website for the first time on a device you will see a cookies banner explaining that we use cookies, why we use them and providing a link to this document.
This banner gives you a settings option for our websites. If you click on this, you can turn certain cookies on and off.
You can access these settings and change your choices at any time in the future by clicking on the Cookies Settings link at the bottom of our website pages.
You can also control cookies by activating relevant settings on your browser. Please see below for more information on browser controls.
Please be aware that if you turn cookies off you may not be able to access all or parts of our sites.
Browser controls
You can use your web browser to:
- delete all cookies;
- block all cookies;
- allow all cookies;
- block ‘third-party’ cookies;
- clear all cookies when you close the browser;
- open a ‘private browsing’ / ‘incognito’ session, which allows you to browse the web without recording your browsing history or storing local data such as cookies (you should however be aware of the limitations of this feature in a privacy context); and
- install add-ons and plugins that extend browser functionality.
Your choice to refuse cookies is specific to both the browser and the device that you are using. So, if you make a choice to opt out from one device and you want your opt-out to apply to a different device as well, you will have to opt out from that device too.
You can use the links below to find out how to use your browser to control cookies:
- Microsoft Edge cookies information
- Internet Explorer cookies information
- Chrome cookies information
- Firefox cookies information
- Safari cookies information – mobile devices and desktops
- Opera cookies information
Other controls
In relation to third party advertising cookies, third parties can participate in one of the following self-regulatory programs for online behavioural advertising, which gives users opt-outs:
If you don’t want your personal information to be used to allow third parties (e.g. Google, Facebook) to display ads or to personalise ads displayed to you, you can change your settings by using the tools provided by their sites or through one of the above self-regulatory programmes, if they participate in them.
You can also find more detailed about how you can manage cookies at the All About Cookies and Your Online Choices websites.
If you have any questions about our use of cookies, please contact us.