PRIVACY AND PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
Retail Benchmarks is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy statement explains data collection and use practices of the Retail Benchmarks website ("Site") hosted for Retail Benchmarks by Dynamic Webscapes; it does not apply to other online or offline Retail Benchmarks sites, products or services. By accessing the Site, you are consenting to the information collection and use practices described in this privacy statement.

Collecting Your Personal Information
We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you. The personal information we collect may include name, e-mail address, phone, postal address, demographic information, and company name and address.

The Site may collect certain information about your visit, such as the name of the Internet service provider and the Internet Protocol (IP) address through which you access the Internet; the date and time you access the Site; the pages that you access while at the Site and the Internet address of the Web site from which you linked directly to our site. This information is used for the operation and improvement of the Site.

Retail Benchmarks offers the ability to post messages in the Retail Connections member forums. As the author of a message, you will be identified by a username that you choose. In order to help prevent your personal information from being gathered and used by others for inappropriate or harmful purposes, you should not include personal or company information in your username or postings.

For retailers participating in a Retail Revelations study, please refer to the Retail Revelations Study Agreement for additional privacy protection information.

Use of Your Personal Information
The personal information collected on this Site will be used to operate the Site and to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized.

In support of these uses, Retail Benchmarks may use personal information to provide you with more effective customer service, to improve the Site and any related Retail Benchmarks products or services, and to make the Site easier to use by eliminating the need for you to repeatedly enter the same information or by customizing the Site to your particular preference or interests.

We may use your personal information to provide you with important information about the product or service that you are using, including critical updates and notifications. Additionally, we may send you information about other Retail Benchmarks products and services, and/or share information with Retail Benchmarks partners so they may send you information about their products and services.

Retail Benchmarks occasionally hires other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as Web site hosting; packaging, mailing and delivering prizes; answering customer questions about products and services, and sending information about our products, special offers, and other new services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

Retail Benchmarks may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Retail Benchmarks or the Site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Retail Benchmark; or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Retail Benchmarks employees or agents, users of Retail Benchmarks products or services, or members of the public.

Personal information collected on the Site may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Retail Benchmarks or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, and by using the Site, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. Retail Benchmarks abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union.

Control of Your Personal Information
Except as otherwise described in this statement, personal information you provide on the Site will not be shared outside of Retail Benchmarks and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates without your permission.

By joining Retail Connections membership, you agree to receive newsletters and site notices from Retail Benchmarks. You may unsubscribe from specific notices by clicking the unsubscribe link provided in the email.

Please be aware that this privacy statement and any choices you make on the Site will not necessarily apply to personal information you may have provided to Retail Benchmarks in the context of other, separately operated, Retail Benchmarks products or services.

Access to Your Personal Information
Customer information is collected by Dynamic Webscapes, a Retail Benchmarks vendor. It is stored at Dynamic Webscapes, plus sent back to Retail Benchmarks. You can review and edit the personal information you provided at this Site by logging into the Retail Benchmarks website and using the link provided on the members only page or menu to update your profile.

Security of Your Personal Information
Retail Benchmarks is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer servers with limited access that are located in controlled facilities. Additionally, when we transmit sensitive personal information (such as a credit card number) over the Internet, we protect it through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Cookies
We use cookies on this Site to ensure the integrity of the registration process and to personalize the Site. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize a web page, or navigate within a site, a cookie helps the site to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of delivering relevant content, eases site navigation, and so on. When you return to the web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the site's features that you customized. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of this or other web sites you visit.

Changes to This Privacy Statement
We may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will also revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. For material changes to this privacy statement, we will notify you either by placing a prominent notice on the home page of our web site or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. Your continued use of the service constitutes your agreement to this privacy statement and any updates.

Contact Information
Retail Benchmarks welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you believe that Retail Benchmarks has not adhered to this privacy statement, please contact our hosting vendor directly by e-mail at abuse@dynamicwebscapes.com or write Retail Benchmarks directly via postal mail at the address provided below, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.

CONTACT
To contact Retail Benchmarks write to:
Retail Benchmarks
305 Lisa Lane
Acworth, GA 30102 U.S.A.