By now you have possibly heard about General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but if you haven’t, it’s the replacement for the current Data Protection Act 1998.

The new regulation is aimed at giving EU citizens more control over how their data is used and provide more stringent privacy and security for the data that’s collected by organisations. The UK has already confirmed that the decision to leave the EU will not affect our participation in GDPR.

This has implications for those who collect and store data as they will be subject to new standards by which it’s acceptable to do so.

For retailers, this means if you collect data on your customers, such as email addresses and telephone details, you will need to ensure you are compliant before May 25th 2018 when GDPR comes into effect. Those organisations who fail to comply may be hit with heavy financial penalties, so it’s worth taking the time to learn about GDPR and how it might affect your business.

In the meantime, before May 2018, there is a lot that businesses need to do in order to be considered compliant when the time comes. Various procedures and new processes need to be put in place to ensure your business isn’t caught out. We would recommend seeking expert help if you’re unsure of how your business should proceed, better safe than sorry after all!