Privacy Policy

Privacy and Cookie Policy

Last updated: [insert date of publishing]

As a valued shopper, The Appliance Shop respects your privacy and handles your personal information with care. The Appliance Shop is a trading division of Niche Living (Pty) Ltd (VAT No. 4560296487), a South African company and the same registered entity that operates nicheliving.co.za. This policy explains how we collect, use, process, secure, retain and disclose your personal information when you visit or shop on theapplianceshop.co.za. If you have any questions about your personal information, contact us at sales@theapplianceshop.co.za.

By visiting, accessing or using this website you agree to the terms of this privacy policy. We may change this policy from time to time by updating this page — please check back periodically. Each time you use the website, you agree to the version of the policy posted at that time.

Definitions

"Information" means any information, including personal information, that you provide to us.
"Personal information" means any information by which you can be personally identified, including without limitation your name, surname, address, telephone number, email address, age, birth date, gender, profession, and your product preferences and purchase history.
"You" or "user" means any person who accesses or uses the website.
"We" or "us" means Niche Living (Pty) Ltd, trading as The Appliance Shop.
"Website" means https://theapplianceshop.co.za.
"Direct marketing" means any direct communication between us and you for the purpose of informing you about goods or services, marketing goods or services, or customer profile building.
"Processing" means the creation, generation, communication, storage or destruction of personal information, as more fully defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

Information we collect

When you browse or shop on theapplianceshop.co.za, we collect the details you provide on registration or checkout, together with information we learn from your use of our products or services and your transactions with us. We may also collect information you provide through promotions, competitions, or feedback forms.

Once you register an account or place an order, you provide us with personal information such as:

your name and surname;
your email address and mobile number;
your delivery and billing address;
your order and purchase history and product preferences; and
your business details, if you register or order as a business.

We also collect certain information automatically as you browse, including your IP address, device and browser information, and cookie data — see the Cookies section below.

How we use your information

By visiting, accessing or using the website, you agree that we may collect, use and store your personal information to:

process and fulfil your orders, including sharing necessary details with our couriers and payment providers;
maintain and update our customer database;
send you direct marketing, from which you can opt out or unsubscribe at any time;
provide value-added services such as order updates, warranty support and promotions;
communicate with you about the website, your account, orders or promotions;
improve the content, product range and functionality of the website;
conduct marketing and product research;
investigate or resolve complaints, including with the assistance of a relevant third party;
comply with the law or any legal process; and
prevent or address fraud, abuse or misuse of the website.

Disclosure of your personal information

We will not sell or distribute your personal information, and will only share or disclose it as set out in this policy. You agree that we may disclose your personal information to:

our affiliates within the Niche group of companies, including nicheliving.co.za, for order fulfilment, customer care and shared administration;
our couriers (DSV, Courier-IT and The Courier Guy) and payment service providers, solely to fulfil and process your order;
government agencies, exchanges, or regulatory bodies, where we are required to do so by law; and
a third party who acquires all or substantially all of the assets or shares of Niche Living (Pty) Ltd or the website, by sale, merger or otherwise.

Keeping your information secure

We are committed to keeping your information secure. We use fraud-prevention measures to monitor and prevent suspicious activity, and have put in place reasonable physical, electronic and managerial safeguards to protect the information we hold. Payments made on this website are processed by our payment service providers over encrypted, secure connections — we do not store your full card details on our own systems.

You can control how your information is used in the following ways:

you may opt out of marketing communications when completing a form, or at any time by using the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email, or by emailing sales@theapplianceshop.co.za;
you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information by contacting us, subject to our legal obligation to retain certain records (e.g. for tax and warranty purposes).

Cookies and how we use them

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device by your browser when you visit our website. Cookies let our site recognise you when you return, keep your cart and preferences, and help us understand how the site is used so we can improve it. Cookies do not give us access to your device or to any information beyond what you choose to share with us.

Our website is built on the Shopify platform, which sets a number of cookies that are essential to the operation of the store (for example, keeping items in your cart and keeping you securely signed in). Typical cookies used on this website include:

Cookie	Purpose
cart	Keeps track of the items in your shopping cart.
cart_currency	Remembers the currency used for your cart.
_secure_session_id	Maintains your secure session as you browse and check out.
_shopify_y / _shopify_s	Used for site analytics, to understand how visitors use the store.
_orig_referrer / _landing_page	Remembers how you first arrived at our website.
_shopify_country	Used for country-level pricing and currency.
localization	Remembers your selected language/region.
_tracking_consent	Records your cookie consent preferences.

We may also use cookies and similar technologies from trusted partners for analytics (such as Google Analytics), advertising, and customer support tools. These partners are only permitted to use this information to provide services to us, not for their own independent purposes.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies through your browser settings, or through the cookie consent banner on this website where available. Please note that disabling cookies may prevent parts of the website — including your shopping cart and checkout — from working correctly.

Account registration

To make shopping faster, you may create an account with us. As a registered customer, your shipping and billing details are stored securely for future use. You can log in at any time to view, add, or change your information. If you're using a shared or public device, we recommend signing out once you're done shopping.

Marketing emails

You will only receive marketing emails from us if you have opted in to receive them. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any marketing email, or by emailing sales@theapplianceshop.co.za. Please allow a few business days for your request to take effect, as some promotions may already be in progress.

Your rights under POPIA

In accordance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, you have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of the personal information we hold about you, and to object to our processing of it in certain circumstances, subject to our legal and legitimate business requirements to retain certain records. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at sales@theapplianceshop.co.za.

Acceptance

By using this website, you accept the terms set out in this Privacy and Cookie Policy.