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Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January1st,  2024

MERCADO PET® Privacy Policy

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Thank you for visiting the website located at www.mercadopet.ca (the “Site”).  The Site is owned and operated by MERCADO PET (“MERCADO PET®,” “we,” “our” or “us”).  This MERCADO PET® Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) covers our treatment of personal information and other information that we collect when end-users (“user,” “you” or “your”): (a) access and/or use the Site; (b) access and/or download any of the: (i) text, audio, video, photographs, graphics, artwork and/or other content featured on the Site (collectively, “Informational Content”); and/or (ii) links to third party websites, products and/or services (“Third-Party Links,” and together with the Informational Content, the “Content”); (c) purchase any of the MERCADO PET® pet-related clothing, apparel and/or other merchandise (collectively, the “Merchandise”); (d) access links to MERCADO PET's® social media pages/accounts (collectively, “Social Media Pages”) on third-party social media websites, such as Instagram (“Social Media Websites”); and/or (e) utilize the various contact forms and/or contact information made available on the Site as a means to contact directly, or request to be contacted by, MERCADO PET® (collectively, the “Contact Services,” and together with the Site, Content, Merchandise and Social Media Pages, the “Site Offerings”). 

 

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY IN THEIR ENTIRETY, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE THE SITE OFFERINGS.

 

Instagram® and Facebook® are registered trademarks of Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”).   Please be advised that MERCADO PET® is not in any way affiliated with Facebook or Instagram, nor are the Site Offerings endorsed, administered or sponsored by Facebook or Instagram.

 

Personal Information Collected

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “personal information” shall mean individually identifiable information from or about an individual.  We collect personal information when you access certain of the Site Offerings and complete the required information request Form(s) and/or otherwise provide such information to us.  The information that you must supply on the Form(s) may include, without limitation: (a) your full name; (b) your billing/mailing address; (c) your e-mail address; (d) your telephone number; (e) your credit card information (where purchasing Merchandise); and/or (f) any other information requested by us on the applicable registration form. 

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, item (e) in the preceding paragraph may be considered “Sensitive Information.”

 

Use and Sharing of Personal Information

MERCADO PET® will never share, sell, rent, exchange or barter your personal information to or with any third-party for financial gain or marketing purposes.  Please be advised, however, that we may use your personal information to send you promotional messages regarding various MERCADO PET® products, as well as third-party products and/or services that we think may be of interest to you. If you wish to stop receiving future communications from us, please follow the instructions at the end of each such marketing message or use any of the other options available in the “Opt-Out/Unsubscribe” section below.  

We may also employ third parties and individuals to perform certain functions on our behalf, including helping us operate the Site Offerings and/or to administer related activities on our behalf. Examples include sending direct and electronic mail, removing duplicate information from user lists, analyzing data and providing marketing analysis. The agents performing these limited functions on our behalf shall have access to our users’ personal information as needed to perform their functions for us, but we do not permit them to use user personal information for other purposes.

We will also use your personal information for customer service, to provide you with information that you may request, to customize your experience on the Site and/or to contact you when necessary in connection with transactions entered into by you through the Site Offerings. We may also use your personal information for internal business purposes, such as analyzing and managing our business. We may also combine the information we have gathered about you with information from other sources.

By registering with the Site, you agree that such act constitutes an inquiry and/or application for purposes of the Amended Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR §310 et seq.), as amended from time to time (the “Rule”) and applicable state do-not-call regulations. As such, notwithstanding that your telephone number may be listed on the Federal Trade Commission’s Do-Not-Call List, and/or on applicable state do-not-call lists, we retain the right to contact you via telemarketing in accordance with the Rule and applicable state do-not-call regulations.

Where you provide “prior express consent” within the meaning of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (47 USC § 227), and its implementing regulations adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (47 CFR § 64.1200), as amended from time-to-time (“TCPA“), you consent to receive telephone calls from MERCADO PET®, including artificial voice calls, pre-recorded messages and/or calls (including SMS text messages) delivered via automated technology, to the telephone number(s) that you provided. Please note that you are not required to provide this consent in order to obtain access to the Site Offerings, and your consent simply allows MERCADO PET® to contact you via these means. Please be advised that by agreeing to this Privacy Policy, you are obligated to immediately inform us if and when the telephone number that you have previously provided to us changes. Without limiting the foregoing, if you: (a) have your telephone number reassigned to another person or entity; (b) give up your telephone number so that it is no longer used by you; (c) port your telephone number to a landline or vice versa; or (d) otherwise stop using that telephone number for any reason (collectively “Phone Number Change”), you agree that you shall promptly notify MERCADO PET® of the Phone Number Change via e-mail at: hello@mercadopet.ca or by using one of the methods set forth in the “Contact Us” section below.

 

We also reserve the right to release current or past users’ information (including Sensitive Information) in the event that we believe that the user is using, or has used, the Site Offerings: (i) in violation of the Terms and Conditions, this Privacy Policy or any other of our operating rules, policies, price schedules and other supplemental terms and conditions or documents that may be published by us from time to time; (ii) to commit unlawful acts; (iii) if such information is subpoenaed; provided, however, that, where permitted by applicable law, we shall provide you with e-mail notice, and opportunity to challenge the subpoena, prior to disclosure of any personal information pursuant to a subpoena; (iv) if we are sold, merge with a third-party or are acquired by a third-party (collectively, “M&A Transactions”) (including where we share your personal information, including Sensitive Information, in connection with the due diligence process associated with a potential M&A Transaction); (v) if we are the subject of bankruptcy proceedings; provided, however, that if MERCADO PET® is involved in a bankruptcy proceeding and/or M&A Transaction, you will be notified via e-mail and/or a prominent notice on the Site of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices that you may have regarding your personal information; and/or (vi) when we deem it necessary or appropriate including, without limitation, sharing your e-mail address with other third parties for suppression purposes in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, as amended from time to time, and Federal Trade Commission implementing regulations.

 

Credit and/or Debit Card Transactions

MERCADO PET® utilizes third-party service providers to provide credit and debit card payment processing services.  If you choose to purchase Merchandise, the credit or debit card information provided will be shared with our contracted third-party payment processing service provider(s).  MERCADO PET® requires that its third-party payment processing service provider(s) has/have in place privacy policies and practices consistent with this Privacy Policy; provided, however, that we cannot guarantee the privacy practices of our third-party payment processing service provider(s). 

 

Non-Personal Information Collection and Use

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Computer IP Addresses/Browser Type

We may collect certain non-personally identifiable information about you and your desktop computer when you visit many of the pages of the Site.  This non-personally identifiable information includes, without limitation, the type of browser that you use (e.g., Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer), your IP address, the type of operating system that you use (e.g., Windows or iOS) and the domain name of your Internet service provider (e.g., Verizon, AT&T).  We use the non-personally identifiable information that we collect to improve the design and content of the Site Offerings and to enable us to personalize your Internet experience.  We also may use this information in the aggregate to analyze usage of the Site Offerings.  

 

Cookies

When a user visits the Site and/or interacts with one of our commercial e-mail messages, we send one (1) or more cookies and/or gif files (collectively, “Cookies”) to assign an anonymous, unique identifier to the applicable user’s computer and/or mobile device, as applicable.  A Cookie is a piece of data stored on your hard drive containing non-personally identifiable information about you.  Cookies have many benefits to enhance your experience on the Site, as applicable.  To find out more about Cookies, please visit www.cookiecentral.com.  We use Cookies to improve the quality of the Site Offerings, including for storing user preferences and tracking Site usage (such as pages opened and length of stay at the Site, as applicable).

 

Most Internet browsers are initially set up to accept Cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all Cookies or to indicate when a Cookie is being sent. To disable and reject certain Cookies, follow the instructions associated with your Internet browser.  Even in the case where a user rejects a Cookie, he or she may still use the Site Offerings; provided, however, that certain functions of the Site Offerings may be impaired or rendered inoperable if the use of Cookies is disabled.  We reserve the right to retain Cookie data indefinitely.

 

Behavioral Tracking

MERCADO PET® and its third-party partners, such as Google®, use Cookies, pixels and other tracking technology (collectively, “Tracking Technology”) to analyze trends, administer the Site, track users’ movements around the Site and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole.  In addition, we partner with third-parties to use Tracking Technology in connection with the display of advertising on our Site, and to manage the serving of our advertising to you on other websites when you exit the Site. Our third-party partners may use Tracking Technology to gather information about your activities on the Site and other websites in order to provide you with certain MERCADO PET® advertising based upon your browsing activities and interests. To the greatest extent permissible under applicable law, we are not responsible for the tracking practices of third-parties in connection with the Site.

 

Please note that we do not respond to or honor “do not track” (a/k/a/ DNT) signals or similar mechanisms transmitted by web browsers. To learn more about how you can opt out of targeted advertising on the Site, please visit the “Ad Choices” website located at https://youradchoices.ca. Users can opt-out of certain Google®-related tracking technology, and customize the Google® Display Network ads that they receive, by visiting the Google® Ads Settings at: http://www.google.com/settings/ads.  Google® also recommends installing the Google® Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on for your web browser, which is available here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. 

 

In addition, users may be able to opt-out of this form of tracking utilizing the options made available by the Network Advertising InitiativeFacebook or Digital Advertising Alliance. Please note that opting out of this tracking activity does not opt you out of being served advertising. Even where you opt out of this tracking activity, you will continue to receive generic ads.

 

Further, whether you are opting out by adjusting your browser/device settings or by using a website established by a self-regulatory group, the Tracking Technology opt-outs must be performed on each device and browser that you wish to have opted-out. For example, if you have opted out on your computer browser, that opt-out will not be effective on your mobile device. You must separately opt out on each device.

 

Cross Device Tracking

MERCADO PET® tracks users’ use of the Site Offerings across various devices, including your personal computer and mobile device, in order to optimize and personalize your Site Offerings experience.  MERCADO PET® may collect certain of your personal information across various devices.  Please be advised that where you opt-out of having your use of the Site Offerings tracked across devices, you may need to upload certain information multiple times and/or input your log-in information multiple times.

 

Aggregate Data

MERCADO PET® reserves the right to transfer and/or sell aggregate or group data about users of the Site Offerings for lawful purposes.  Aggregate or group data is data that describes the demographics, usage and other characteristics of users as a group, without disclosing personally identifiable information.

 

Social Media Websites and Widgets

If you engage in any interaction with MERCADO PET®, other users or any third-party on any Social Media Pages, you should be aware that: (a) the personal information that you submit by and through such Social Media Pages can be read, collected and/or used by other users of these websites/services (depending on your privacy settings associated with your accounts with the applicable Social Media Websites), and could be used to send you unsolicited messages or otherwise to contact you without your consent or desire; and (b) where MERCADO PET® responds to any interaction on such Social Media Pages, your account name/handle may be viewable by any and all members/users of MERCADO PET® social media accounts.  We are not responsible for the personal information that you choose to submit on any Social Media Websites.  

 

In addition, the Site contains Social Media Website widgets and buttons (“Widgets”), such as the Facebook and Instagram share buttons. These Widgets may collect your IP address, as well as which page you are visiting on our Site, and may set a Cookie on your browser to enable the Widget to function properly.  The Widgets are owned and operated by the applicable Social Media Websites. The Social Media Websites operate independently from MERCADO PET®, and we are not responsible for such Social Media Websites’ interfaces or privacy or security practices. 

 

Your interactions with the Social Media Pages and Widgets are governed by the privacy policies of the applicable Social Media Websites.  We encourage you to review the privacy policies and settings of the Social Media Pages and/or Widgets with which you interact to help you understand those Social Media Websites’ respective privacy practices.  If you have questions about the security and privacy settings of any Social Media Pages and/or Widgets that you use, please refer to the applicable Social Media Website’s privacy notices or policies.

 

Third-Party Websites

This Site may contain links to third-party owned and/or operated websites including, without limitation, the Third-Party Links and Social Media Websites.  MERCADO PET® is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.  In some cases, you may be able to make a purchase through one of these third-party websites.  In these instances, you may be required to provide certain information, such as a credit card number, to register or complete a transaction at such website.  These third-party websites have separate privacy and data collection practices and MERCADO PET® has no responsibility or liability relating to them.

 

Security of Your Personal Information 

We endeavour to safeguard and protect our users’ personal information.  When users make personal information available to us, their personal information is protected both online and offline (to the extent that we maintain any personal information offline).  Where our registration/application process prompts users to enter Sensitive Information (such as credit card information), and when we store and transmit such Sensitive Information, that information is encrypted with advanced TLS (Transport Layer Security).

 

Access to your personal information is strictly limited, and we take reasonable security measures to ensure that your personal information is not accessible to the public.  All of our users’ personal information is restricted in our offices, as well as the offices of our third-party service providers.  Only employees or third-party agents who need user personal information to perform a specific job are granted access to user personal information.  Our employees are dedicated to ensuring the security and privacy of all user personal information.  Employees not adhering to our firm policies are subject to disciplinary action.  The servers that we store user personal information on are kept in a secure physical environment.  We also have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of personal information under our control. 

 

Please be advised, however, that while we take every reasonable precaution available to protect your data, no storage facility, technology, software, security protocols or data transmission over the Internet or via wireless networks can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  Computer hackers that circumvent our security measures may gain access to certain portions of your personal information, and technological bugs, errors and glitches may cause inadvertent disclosures of your personal information; provided, however, that any attempt to breach the security of the network, our servers, databases or other hardware or software may constitute a crime punishable by law.  For the reasons mentioned above, we cannot warrant that your personal information will be absolutely secure.  Any transmission of data at or through the Site, other Site Offerings or otherwise via the Internet or wireless networks, is done at your own risk.

 

In compliance with applicable federal and state laws, we shall notify you and any applicable regulatory agencies in the event that we learn of an information security breach with respect to your personal information.  You will be notified via e-mail in the event of such a breach.  Please be advised that notice may be delayed in order to address the needs of law enforcement, determine the scope of network damage, and to engage in remedial measures.

 

Children’s Privacy

 

Visitors under eighteen (18) years of age are not permitted to use and/or submit their personal information at the Site. MERCADO PET® does not knowingly solicit or collect information from visitors under eighteen (18) years of age. 

 

Opt-Out/Unsubscribe

To opt-out of receiving e-mail and other forms of communication from us, you can: (a) follow the instructions included in the applicable e-mail message or other communication; or (b) e-mail us at: hello@mercadopet.ca

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may continue to contact you for the purpose of communicating information relating to your request for Site Offerings, as well as to respond to any inquiry or request made by you.  To opt-out of receiving Site Offerings-related and/or inquiry response-related messages from MERCADO PET®, you must cease requesting and/or utilizing the Site Offerings and/or cease submitting inquiries to MERCADO PET®, as applicable.

 

Deleting, Modifying and Updating Your Information

At your request, we will: (a) inform you of what personal information we have on file for you; (b) amend the personal information that we have on file for you; and/or (c) remove personal information that you have provided to us, or that we have otherwise collected.  You may do so by e-mailing us at: hello@mercadopet.ca . We ask individual users to identify themselves and the information requested to be accessed, corrected, or removed before processing such requests, and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we may decline to process requests that are unreasonably repetitive or systematic, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the privacy of others or would be extremely impractical (for instance, requests concerning information residing on backup tapes).

 

Please be advised that deleting your personal information may terminate your access to certain of the Site Offerings.  If you wish to continue using the full complement of Site Offerings, you may not be able to delete all of the personal information that we have on file for you.

 

Please be further advised that, after you delete your personal information, residual copies may take a period of time before they are deleted from our active servers and may remain in our backup systems.

 

Transfer of Personal Information Internationally

If you are visiting the Site from a country other than the country in which our servers are located, your communications with us may result in the transfer of information across international boundaries. By visiting the Site and/or otherwise communicating electronically with us, you consent to such transfers.  Even if your jurisdiction does not have the same privacy laws as the jurisdiction where our servers are located, we will treat your information as subject to the protections described in this Privacy Policy.

 

Changes to this Privacy Policy

MERCADO PET® reserves the right to change or update this Privacy Policy at any time by posting a notice on the Site that we are changing our Privacy Policy.  If the manner in which we use personal information changes, MERCADO PET® will notify users by: (a) sending the modified policy to our users via e-mail; and/or (b) by any other reasonable means acceptable under applicable state and federal law.  You will have a choice as to whether or not we use your information in this different manner, and we will only use your information in this different manner where you opt-in to such use.  

 

Notice of Financial Incentive

MERCADO PET® offers Users a discount that can be applied to future purchases on the Site where Users join MERCADO PET's® E-mail Newsletter Program.  In order to join MERCADO PET’s® E-mail Newsletter Program, you must submit your email address.  MERCADO PET® uses this personal information to contact you regarding your use of the Site and related offerings.  Joining the E-mail Newsletter Program is optional.  Once you join the E-mail Newsletter Program, you may opt out at any time by following the unsubscribe directions in the e-mail messages sent to you in connection with the E-mail Newsletter Program, or by sending an email to: hello@mercadopet.ca.  Users may continue to use their discount after opting out of the E-mail Newsletter Program.

The value of the consumer personal information provided in order to join the E-mail Newsletter Program is based upon our reasonable, but sole, determination of the estimated value of such information.  We calculate this value by considering, without limitation, estimates regarding anticipated revenue that we may generate from such information, anticipated expenses which may be incurred in the collection, storage, use and sharing of such information in the operation of our business, and other relevant factors, as permitted by the CCPA (“Valuation Criteria”).  Using the Valuation Criteria, we estimate the value of personal information we request to join the E-mail Newsletter Program by multiplying the discount by the average purchase price of MERCADO PET® merchandise.

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Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices in general, you may e-mail us as at: hello@mercadopet.ca or call us at: (437) 747-7456.

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