What does a valid opt-in look like?
- Active: the customer ticks the box themselves. Pre-ticked boxes and silence don’t count.
- Separate: agreeing to news is not a condition for getting the loyalty card.
- Informed: the customer knows who will write to them and about what.
- Reversible: every message offers a simple way to unsubscribe.
Not everything needs consent. Running the loyalty card itself (storing a first name, an e-mail and stamps) is needed to provide the service the customer asked for, so it rests on that contract rather than on consent. Marketing e-mails, on the other hand, generally need an opt-in under the ePrivacy rules (in Sweden, section 19 of the Marketing Practices Act), with a narrow exception for a shop’s existing customers about similar products, provided they could refuse from the start.
Why does it matter for a shop?
Messages sent without a valid opt-in can lead to complaints to IMY and fines. Messages sent with one reach people who actually want to hear from you, so they get read.
How does Fidelia handle it?
The join form has one optional, unticked box for the shop’s news; the service notice sits under the wallet button instead of in a checkbox. Fidelia only sends campaigns, push messages and e-mails to customers who ticked that box. Every e-mail carries a one-click unsubscribe link, and you can erase a customer from the Customers page.