What are cookies?

 

Cookies are small text files containing a string of characters that can be placed on your computer or mobile device that uniquely identifies your browser or device. Cookies allow a site to know if your computer or device has visited that site before. Cookies can then be used to help understand how the site is being used, help you navigate between pages efficiently, help remember your preferences, and generally improve your browsing experience. Cookies can also help ensure that the marketing you see online is more relevant to you and your interests.  

 

How do we use cookies?

Cookies used on our website are grouped into the following categories:

1. Essential- these are cookies that are required for the regular operation of our websites. For example, some cookies allow you to log-in to your account and add products to your basket and checkout securely, or carry out fraud detection and security checks (along with other similar things). These are essential for the website to work properly.

2. Functional- these cookies will enable you to move around the site and use its features such as accessing secure areas (e.g. content for registered users). These cookies also allow us to remember your user preferences, helping you to customize your experience on our site. The information gained through the use of functional cookies is anonymous and is not used for any other purpose.

3. Performance improvers- these cookies will help us understand how effective our content is, what interests our customers, and to improve how our website works. This information is used for statistical purposes only and is not used to personally identify any user.

4. Advertising- these cookies enable us and our advertising partners to serve ads and manage our online advertising when you visit our site and sites upon which we advertise. These cookies record your visit to our website and the content you interact with, and may also be used to manage the number of times that you see an advertisement.  

 

Who sets cookies?

Apart from us, also approved third parties may set cookies when you visit the site. Third parties include search engines, providers of measurement and analytics services, social media networks, and advertising companies. Third parties use cookies in the process of delivering content, including ads relevant to your interests, to measure the effectiveness of their ads, and to perform services.  

 

How to manage cookies

When accessing our websites, you are first presented with a banner that asks you to accept or decline cookies and provides you with an opportunity to read this cookie policy. Generally speaking, you can also restrict or block the cookies that are set by our site, or any other site, through the “Settings” function of your preferred browser. The “Help” function in your browser should explain how. Alternatively, you can visit consumer help sites, such as www.aboutcookies.org, which contain information on how to do this on a variety of browsers. You will also find general information about cookies and details on how to delete cookies from your device.