We are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 2020 (as amended and replaced from time to time). If you have any questions, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Us” section below.
This Privacy Policy applies to any personal information that we collect when you interact with us, including when you visit one our stores, or join or use Countdown Online Shopping, the Onecard loyalty programme, our Websites and other Programmes that incorporate this Privacy Policy.
Capitalised terms used in this Privacy Policy have the meaning given to them in the “Dictionary” below.
We may need to update this Privacy Policy in future to reflect changes to applicable law or changes to our Programmes. If we update this Privacy Policy, we will provide at least two weeks’ prior notice of the change by publishing our updated Privacy Policy on our Websites. We may also take additional steps to bring the changes to your attention, including by notifying you directly. By continuing to use our Programmes, you will be deemed to agree to our updated Privacy Policy.
This Privacy Policy applies in addition to, and does not limit:
(a) our rights and obligations under the Privacy Act and any other applicable law; and
(b) any additional information or authorisation provided by you or us in connection with your membership or use of a particular Programme.
In this section, we describe the personal information that we collect. You do not have to provide us, or authorise us to collect, any information that we request. However, if you do not do so it may affect your use of our Programmes.
Depending on the Programmes that you use, and your interactions with us, the personal information that we collect may include:
(a) your name, address, phone number, email address, age and gender;
(b) your customer reference number or loyalty card number;
(c) details of the Programmes you have joined and used, including any rewards you have earned through your membership of our loyalty programmes;
(d) what, how and when you buy from us or have expressed an interest in buying from us;
(e) your stated or likely preferences, for example whether you may be interested in particular products or promotions;
(f) information you provide to enter a promotion;
(g) video footage of you on our CCTV cameras for security or safety purposes; and
(h) any other information that you authorise us to collect.
When you use your debit or credit card to make purchases from us, we may collect and hold your payment information. This information is held in an encrypted and secure manner and in compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCIDSS).
We may collect information about you using “cookies”, when you visit our Websites or social media pages, use our Apps, or click on our advertisements on the online media of other companies. For information about our use of this technology, please refer to our Cookie Statement.
We use Google Analytics to collect analytical information, such as the number of visitors to our Websites per day or the number of pages requested per day. This non-personal information is aggregated by Google Analytics and enables us to measure activity within our Websites, which in turn is used to continually improve our Websites and our service to our customers. For further information, please refer to the Google Analytics website.
Emails sent on behalf of Countdown Online Shopping may include code that measures e-mail response and click through activity.
In this section, we describe how we collect personal information directly from you and, in some cases, from other sources.
Generally, we only collect personal information directly from you. For example, when you:
(a) register for and use a Programme, such as Onecard or Countdown Online Shopping;
(b) visit one of our Websites or use one of our Apps;
(c) participate in a survey, promotion or competition;
(d) visit our stores, as you may be recorded on CCTV for security purposes; and
(e) communicate with us, including online and with our call centres.
Our group companies may also collect personal information from you, and share that information with us, to enable us to use it in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
We may collect personal information from other sources, if applicable to a particular Programme or service. For example:
(a) Onecard “households” - the Onecard loyalty programme enables “households” to link their Onecards (please refer to the Onecard Terms and Conditions for further details). A “nominated cardholder”, or other cardholders that are linked to a “household” that you are part of, may provide us with information about you in connection with your Onecard “household” to enable us to link and administer your Onecard accounts;
(b) AA Smartfuel – the dual branded AA Smartfuel and Onecard enables Onecard cardholders and AA Members to elect to redeem rewards at Countdown or at AA Smartfuel affiliated fuel retailers (please refer to the Onecard Terms and Conditions for further details). If you are a dual branded Onecard cardholder, we may collect information from AA Smartfuel, to enable us to administer this Programme and to keep your details up to date;
(c) Onecard Visa – Onecard Visa is provided by Latitude. Latitude and WWNZ may collect, use and disclosure your information in accordance with the Onecard Visa Privacy Notice. For example, Latitude may notify WWNZ if you apply for and are issued a Onecard Visa, to enable us to register you as a Onecard holder and to calculate your Onecard points and any other applicable benefits. Please refer to the Onecard Visa Privacy Notice for further details; and
(d) Countdown Insurance – Countdown Insurance policies are underwritten by a registered insurer. At the date of this Privacy Policy, Countdown Insurance is underwritten by Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Limited or Southern Cross Benefits Limited (depending of the type of insurance). If you hold Countdown Insurance, the underwriter of your policy may disclose information to us. However, in no circumstances will any of your health information be disclosed to us. Please refer to the Countdown Insurance Privacy Policy for further details.
If you provide us with any personal information about a third party (such as a member of your “household” as described above), you confirm that you have authority from the relevant individual to disclose their personal information to us and to authorise us to use their information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You must inform them of their rights to access and request collection of their personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
We may use your personal information to:
(a) process your registration and administer your Programme membership, including to send you rewards and vouchers applying to Onecard e-vouchers, either by post or e-mail, or by loading them on to your Onecard;
(b) provide services to you, such as processing and delivering your Countdown Online Shopping orders;
(c) send you direct marketing, by post and electronic means, including by email, phone and text/SMS. This may include information about special offers, discounts, promotions and other information relating to our products and services, or the products and services of group companies and selected third parties, that we think may be of interest to you – you can opt out of receiving direct marketing by telling us in writing, by email (refer to the “Contact Us” section), by changing your Countdown Online Shopping account preferences or calling our contact centre;
(d) understand your shopping habits and likely preferences, in order to enhance Countdown’s products and services (for example, in order to offer you a better, more personalised and tailored service, send you information about goods and services that are likely to be of most interest to you and show you advertising and information that is most relevant to you and your interests);
(e) enter you in a prize competition and administer the prizes - please be aware that, in some cases, you may be automatically entered into a competition by purchasing an eligible product and swiping your Onecard;
(f) improve our Programmes, including our range of Programmes and offerings generally and to ensure that they remain relevant and of interest to users. For example, we may contact you to request that you respond to market research and surveys and if you contact our call centre we may record your call for quality and training purposes;
(g) assist you to access new channels for delivery of, and access to, our services, for example mobile applications and payment methods;
(h) assist us in investigating your claims, complaints and enquiries; and
(i) for any other purpose that you authorise.
We also use aggregated and anonymous information (where identifiable characteristics are removed, so that you will remain anonymous). Where we do this, we may use that information to determine preferences, shopping habits and other metrics related to our customers' access to and use of our Programmes.
In this section, we describe who we share personal information with. These practices may involve the transfer of information overseas. It is our policy to ensure that any transfer of personal information overseas requires observance of strict privacy and security standards, both during transit and at the overseas destination. Transfer of personal information overseas does not relieve us of our obligations to you under this Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act.
We may share your personal information with any of our group companies for any of the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. For example, a group company may assist us with running a promotion. If our group companies provide products or services which we think you may be interested in, we may share your personal information with them for the purposes of them contacting you. Our group companies are generally based in New Zealand or Australia, but may be based in other jurisdictions.
In providing and managing our Programmes, we contract with other businesses to provide services to us and we may disclose personal information to them to enable them to provide those services. We require these service providers to adhere to our confidentiality requirements and to the requirements of the Privacy Act.
As detailed above, at the date of this Privacy Policy, Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Limited is the underwriter of some Countdown Insurance (depending on the type of insurance). We may disclose customer contact details to Cigna (and other Countdown Insurance underwriters from time to time), to enable them to contact you, on behalf of Countdown, about Countdown Insurance.
As detailed above, Onecard Visa is provided by Latitude. We may disclose Onecard data to Latitude to assist with administering your Onecard benefits, including to enable Latitude to notify you of your Onecard rewards balance.
As detailed above, the dual branded AA Smartfuel and Onecard enables Onecard cardholders to select ‘Onecard Points’ (food) or ‘AA Smartfuel discounts’ (fuel) as their rewards currency. We share personal information with AA Smartfuel to enable us and AA Smartfuel to administer this Programme. For example, if you have selected ‘AA Smartfuel discounts’ as your rewards currency, we calculate the cents/litre earned using your Onecard and send this information to AA Smartfuel to update your AA Smartfuel balance and facilitate the earning and redemption of your AA Smartfuel discounts.
Generally, we will never disclose your personal information to our suppliers who supply products for our stores and for Countdown Online Shopping. The one exception to this is that we may provide your contact details to a supplier, to enable them to contact you if you have won a prize. Please be aware that this may include providing your contact details to a supplier if you have won a prize competition that you were automatically entered into by purchasing an eligible product.
As detailed above, the Onecard loyalty programme enables “households” to link the Onecards held by Onecard cardholders who reside at the same address. If you are part of a linked Onecard “household”, we may share any information related to your Onecard account and usage with other linked Onecard cardholders in your “household”.
We may share anonymised and aggregated information (which is not capable of identifying you) with our contractors, affiliates, business partners and other third parties.
Generally, we do not undertake credit checks. If we need to undertake a credit check, we will notify you and obtain your prior express consent.
We are focused on continually enhancing Countdown’s products and services and providing new products and services, which may involve new partnerships with other companies. We will only disclose your personal information in connection with new or enhanced products and services after we have given you reasonable notice of our intention to do so via a message on our website or other communication to you, or after you have given us express authorisation.
Personal information that we collect is either held by us or on our behalf. Our physical address is 80 Favona Rd, Mangere, Auckland 1640, New Zealand. Some information we hold will be stored in “the cloud” in secure databases on our behalf by third parties based overseas. The use of these services, and the transfer of information overseas (if applicable) will not relieve us of our obligations under the Privacy Act and this Privacy Policy.
We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions, including complying with generally accepted industry standards, to protect personal information that we hold. However, no method is completely secure and we are not responsible for any breach of security caused by third parties.
You are responsible for ensuring your Internet browser and computer system are secure (including, but not limited to, free and secure from viruses) and can support any security measures we use to protect your information.
You are also responsible for complying with any security requirements that we notify to you. For example, you must keep your Countdown Online Shopping sign in details safe and confidential at all times.
We rely on you to update us if your contact details change (please refer to the Contact Us section).
You can contact us at any time by emailing us at privacyofficer@countdown.co.nz or calling us on 0800 40 40 40. Alternatively, you can write to us at:
Privacy Officer
Woolworths New Zealand Limited
Private Bag 93306
Otahuhu, Auckland 1640
You can request access to, and correction of, your personal information at any time by contacting us using the details above.
You can also update your personal information, and change your preferences, on our website (www.countdown.co.nz) by signing into your account.
We may charge a reasonable fee for giving access to your information if your request requires substantial effort on our part. Before we provide you with access to your information, we may require some proof of identity.
| AA Smartfuel | AA Smartfuel Limited. |
|---|---|
| Apps | Any application that can be used on a mobile phone or other device, that is provided by us from time to time. |
| Cigna | Cigna Life Insurance New Zealand Limited. |
| Countdown Online Shopping | The Countdown online shopping services available on the Countdown Online Website. |
| Latitude | Latitude Financial Services Limited. |
| Personal information | Information about an identifiable individual. |
| Privacy Act | The Privacy Act 2020 (NZ). |
| Programme | Countdown Online Shopping, the Onecard loyalty programme, our Websites and other programmes that we operate now or in the future that incorporate this Privacy Policy. |
| Southern Cross | Southern Cross Benefits Limited. |
| WWNZ, we, us or our | Woolworths New Zealand Limited (formerly Progressive Enterprises Limited), which owns and operates the Countdown supermarkets and Countdown Online Shopping. |
| Websites | The Countdown Website (https://www.countdown.co.nz) and the Countdown Online Website (https://shop.countdown.co.nz) and any other websites that incorporate this Privacy Policy from time to time. |
We are committed to protecting your personal information. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us using the details set out above.
This Privacy Policy is effective from 15 July 2019
