Privacy Policy of Sainsbury’s ; Tesco

Privacy Policy of Sainsbury’s ; Tesco

Tesco.com and Sainsburys.co.uk are two online sites that provide a variety of online shopping options, from groceries to insurance services. Because their transactions involve asking clients for personal information, it is important that these stores could convince clients regarding the safety and privacy of the sites.

Basically, Sainsbury’s has a longer privacy policy compared to Tesco.  Although both set of policies cover the same topics, Sainsbury’s provided clients with more information and details.
In Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s privacy policy section, both companies assure clients of protecting the personal information they provide to the respective sites.  The online stores also tell clients what sorts of information are collected from them and where they will be used.
In Tesco’s privacy policy, the company has a Clubcard section that tells clients how the information they’d leave from using the site will be used for statistical purposes and as a gauge to further improve the online services.  Clubcard is a point-reward system that Tesco uses to entice
customers to continue shopping in any of their stores.  Sainsbury’s rewards program version is
called Nectar.  Likewise in Sainsbury’s privacy policy, it tells clients that Nectar-related
information will be shared to their partners.
Both stores’ message is centred on the use of personal information for the benefits of the
customers, like improving the online stores, the offerings, and other services.
Regarding the sending of promotional materials, Sainsbury’s and Tesco state disclaimers differently.  While Tesco used a direct approach of telling customer that they can personally choose what marketing materials to receive, Sainsbury’s assumed that customers would accept promotional materials unless they’d state otherwise.
In terms of cookie use, Sainsbury’s provides a more comprehensive description of its
usage and limitation.  For instance, Sainsbury’s makes it clear that cookies won’t be used to remember passwords and credit card information.  Instead the cookie will remember a user number to simplify the log in process.  Tesco, on the other hand, talks about simplifying the logging in process but did not specify how it will be done.  The same way, Tesco did not relate cookie usage and credit card information storage.  Tesco also says that the cookies will be
used as mechanism for online shopping and to monitor site traffic.
One information that is not in Tesco’s privacy policy is the assurance provided by Sainsbury that the UK Data Protection Act protects personal data provided on its site.  This means, that information provided by customers are treated lawfully and fairly.

Brand Image

Brand image is defined as the totality of how consumers perceive brands.  Tesco and Sainsbury’s are two companies that work hard to make sure that consumer experience while shopping in their sites will be in accordance to what they want them to see and think, that is they want to reduce the perceived risks involved in online transactions.
When making a purchase or deciding on which service to engage, a consumer not only thinks of the products but the associated feelings and visuals.  Online shopping, being conducted through credit cards, must make the clients feel secure about their transactions.  Without that sense of security, clients would not trust their personal information.
Through their privacy policies, Tesco and Sainsbury’s would be able to assure their clients about the sites’ trustworthiness and the safety of sensitive information.  People associate brand image with values.  If the consumers perceive that the sites put value on security and privacy, then the consumers would feel an affinity with them.  Consumers will only conduct
business with people or companies they trust.
Bibliography
Akhter, F.& Hobbs, D. (2004). Determining the factors which engender customer trust in business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce. IEEE International Conference [Internet], July 2004, pp 291-294. Available from: <http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=/iel5/9218/29236/01319745.pdf>[26 November 2007]

Obarski, A.M. (2007) Earning Customer Trust [Internet]. Canada, Blue Boulder Internet Publishing. Available from:
<http://www.sideroad.com/Customer_Service/customer_trust.html>[Accessed 26 November 2007].

Straub,K. & Gaddy, C. (2003) From Bricks to Clicks: Building customer trust in the online environment [Internet]. Human Factors International Inc. Available from:
<http://www.humanfactors.com/downloads/nov03.asp>[Accessed 26 November 2007].

Temporal, P. (2002) Corporate Identity, Brand Identity, and Brand Image [Internet]. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Orient Pacific Century. Available from:
<http://www.brandingasia.com/columns/temporal10.htm>[Accessed 26 November 2007].

Asia-Pacific Market Research. (2003) Brand Image [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.asiamarketresearch.com/glossary/brand-image.htm>
[Accessed 26 November 2007].

Brand Identity Guru. What’s in a name? A brand [Internet]. Available from:
;http://www.brandidentityguru.com/brand_image_company.htm; [Accessed 26 November 2007].

Domains Magazine. (2006) Building Customer Trust With Secure Ecommerce [Internet]. Available from: ;http://domainsmagazine.com/Domains_6/Domain_696.shtml;
[Accessed 26 November 2007]

RSM McGladrey Inc. (2007) Communication and technology are keys to building trust in online business transactions [Internet]. Available from: ;http://www.rsmmcgladrey.com/RSM-Resources/Articles/Advantage/Information-Technology/Communication-and-technology-are-keys-to-building-trust-in-onlin/;[Accessed 26 November 2007]

Sainsbury’s. Privacy Policy [Internet]. Available from:
<http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/furniture/privacypolicy/default.htm>[Accessed 26 November 2007].

Tesco. Privacy Policy [Internet]. Available from:
<http://www.tesco.com/termsandconditions/privacy.htm>[Accessed 26 November 2007].