Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy was last revised on and is effective as of December 26th, 2019.

This Privacy Policy forms part of your legal agreement with Ace Hardware Corporation, its subsidiaries, and affiliates (collectively, “Ace” or “we” or “us”) under Ace’s Terms of Use. By downloading, installing, accessing, or using any of the Online Services (as defined below) or by submitting information to us in a manner governed by this Privacy Policy, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, as amended from time to time.

Note for Non-U.S. Visitors: The Online Services and the products and services offered on the Online Services are intended only for residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia and are not directed to individuals residing outside the United States, who may be subject to different privacy laws. If you reside outside the United States, do not access or use the Online Services.

Ace recognizes that you care how information about you is collected and used. We have created this Privacy Policy to inform you of our general information collection, use and sharing practices for (i) our websites, mobile applications, and other online, digital, and mobile services, applications and platforms that link to this Privacy Policy or on which this Privacy Policy appears, as well as the content, features, and software available on them (collectively, “Online Services”), (ii) online communications through or related to the Online Services, (iii) offline communications through our Customer Care Department in connection with the Online Services, and (iv) our Ace Rewards program.

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact our Customer Service Department by email at carecenter@acehardware.com or by phone at 888-827-4223.

What Information About Me Is Collected And How Does Ace Use It?

Information You Choose to Provide

We collect and store information, including personal information, that you choose to submit to us by entering it into the Online Services, providing it to a Customer Care representative, or providing it to us in some other manner. For example, information will be collected when you open or manage accounts (such as an online account or an Ace Rewards membership account), when you place an order, when you sign up to receive emails, newsletters or other promotional communications, when you enter a contest or sweepstakes, when you contact us with online inquiries, and/or when you otherwise voluntarily submit or provide information to us. The information that you may provide to us includes, but is not limited to: names, billing addresses, shipping addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, Ace Rewards membership ID numbers, payment information, Ace account usernames and passwords, information regarding orders, birth month, demographic information, and information regarding interests and preferences. You can choose not to submit this information to us, but you may not be able to complete transactions (such as opening or accessing an account or purchasing a product on the Online Services) unless you provide the required information.

This information is used for the purpose for which it was collected. For example, the information is used to process, track, and ship orders, to send order and shipping confirmations, to manage billing and payment processes, to operate the Ace Rewards program, to provide emails, newsletters, and other communications you have requested, to administer and fulfill sweepstakes and contests (including tax reporting), to post product reviews and other content provided by you, and to provide customer service.

We may also generally use this information to conduct audits, to manage our information and financial systems, to prevent, identify, and investigate malicious or illegal activity, fraud, and security matters, to evaluate and improve our products, services, merchandise, Online Services, and customer service, to contact you about sales, product recommendations, special offers, and new site features from Ace and other selected vendors, to promote and market our business, products, and services to you and to engage service providers, to track, measure, and improve the effectiveness of our marketing, including digital marketing, to comply with your preferences regarding marketing communications, and for administrative and analytical purposes. In addition, we may use this information for any other purpose you have authorized.

Information We Collect Automatically Through Technologies

Cookies and Other Technologies

Like many online services, we collect and store certain information automatically whenever you interact with our Online Services. For example, we collect your IP address, browser and device information, including operating system, application software, and reference site domain name, every time you access or use the Online Services. We also collect information regarding customer traffic patterns and usage and mobile application usage data. We may use this information in combination with other information we have about you, including personal information.

Ace uses cookies, which are small data files created by a Web server and stored by your browser. We also use pixel tags, which are tiny graphic images, also known as web beacons, action tags, or transparent GIF files. Cookies and pixel tags permit the Online Services to function properly. For example, they help us to identify account holders and Ace Rewards members and to optimize the log-in, account management, and shopping experience. They also allow us to hold selections in a shopping cart when a user leaves without checking out. In addition, we may use cookies and other technologies to store your preferences and provide a personalized experience on the Online Services.

Most browsers accept cookies by default but allow you to block or delete them. If you restrict cookies, you may not be able to use some features of the Online Services. To learn more about cookies and how to disable them, please consult the “Help” feature of your browser or your device’s user guide.

Analytics

Ace also use cookies and other technologies to implement analytics tools, including Google Analytics, that help us understand how the Online Services are performing, how you engage with the Online Services, and how you interact with our advertisements and communications. The information we collect using Google Analytics, which may be shared with Google, doesn’t include names or contact information, but may include Ace Rewards membership ID numbers, IP addresses, and activity on the Online Services. For more information on your privacy choices in connection with Google Analytics, including the Google Analytics Browser Opt-Out Add On, please visit the Google website at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/.

Interest-Based Advertising

We and our advertising vendors use online technologies, including cookies and pixel tags, to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites and platforms. These technologies enable us or our vendors, including Google, to recognize a unique cookie or pixel tag placed by us or our vendors when you accessed the Online Services or by an entity when you visited a non-affiliated website or platform. This information is used to manage advertising effectiveness and provide you with online advertisements, including advertisements on unaffiliated websites and platforms, more likely to be of interest to you. These technologies also allow us to learn which advertisements bring users to our Online Services and to manage affiliate advertising.

For more information about interest-based advertising (often referred to as online behavioral advertising or targeted advertising) and how to manage your preferences for interest-based ads, please visit the following third- party websites:

To opt out of receiving interest-based advertisements from members of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), please visit the DAA website at: www.aboutads.info/choices

To opt out of receiving interest-based advertisements from members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), please visit the NAI website at: www.networkadvertising.org/choices

Please note that these opt-out mechanisms are browser and device specific. If you wish to opt-out of interest-based advertising across all browsers and devices, you need visit the above websites from each browser and device you use. Please consult your device’s user guide or visit the Google Play Support Center or the Apple Support Center for more information on managing interest-based advertisements in a mobile environment. Please be aware that if you opt out of receiving interest-based advertising, you will still be served with advertisements, but they will no longer be targeted to your interests.

Do Not Track Signals

Although your browser may deliver a Do Not Track signal to the Online Services, at present Ace does not respond to such signals.

Location Information

We may collect information about your location when you access or use our Online Services.

We use your IP address to derive information regarding your location (such as longitude and latitude) including Google MAPS. For more information about Google’s privacy policies, please visit http://www.google.com/policies/privacy. If you access or use our Online Services from a mobile device, we may collect geolocation information from your mobile device, but only with your authorization. Location information is used to assign you to a local Ace Hardware store and to customize certain features of the Online Services, such as the store locator feature, local advertising, and product selection, availability and pricing. We may also use this information to send push notifications customized to your location if you have authorized us to send them to your mobile device. Push notifications, which appear on the screen of your mobile device in the form of a badge, alert, or banner, allow mobile applications to send information to your mobile device even when the application is not in use. You may choose to receive push notifications without consenting to the collection of geolocation information, but the messages you receive will not be customized for your location. Your mobile device’s operating system may store your authorization to provide us with information regarding your location. While your authorization is active, if you access or request location-based services from our Online Services, your mobile device will provide us with your location without additional authorization from you. If you would like to disable location services in connection with our mobile website, please consult your mobile device’s user guide for instructions on clearing cookies. If you would like to disable location services and/or push notifications in connection with our mobile app, adjust your mobile device settings according to the instructions in your mobile device’s user guide.

Other Information

We may collect and store information about you that we receive from other sources, such as the U.S Postal Service National Change of Address (NCOA) service and providers of consumer data, to enable us to update and correct the information contained in our database and to provide product recommendations and special offers that we think will interest you. In addition, if you interact with a social media platform (such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram) via the Online Services, the platform may share information with us such as product sharing. We recommend that you review the privacy policy of each social media platform you use for more information about their privacy practices. We may combine the information about you that we receive from these entities with other information we have about you.

We may also collect information from you regarding another entity or person. For instance, if you want to use a “forward to a friend” or similar feature on our Online Services to send communications to a person, we will collect that person’s name and email address from you. We will use this information only to send your communication and will not use the information you provide to otherwise contact the person.

Is Information Collected From Children?

The Online Services and Ace Rewards program are intended for adults. We do not sell any items ordered through our Online Services directly to anyone who we know to be under the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18, you should not enroll in the Ace Rewards program or use our Online Services to submit orders or purchase any items. In addition, we do not collect online any Personal Information from anyone who we know to be under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13, you should use our Online Services only with the involvement of a parent or guardian and should not submit any personal information of any kind to us.

California minors (under 18 years of age) may in certain circumstances request and obtain removal of content or information they posted to the Online Services. If you are a California minor, you may make a removal request by contacting us by email at carecenter@acehardware.com or by phone at 888-827-4223.

With Whom Do You Share Information?

We may share non-identifying information that we have collected for a variety of purposes, including marketing. Non-identifying information includes information such as the number of users who accessed or used our Online Services during a specific time period or purchased a specific product through the Online Services, device information, and system and application software.

We may share your Personal Information as described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy and as follows:

Ace Affiliates

Ace may transfer personal information to its subsidiaries and corporate affiliates, including future subsidiaries and affiliates.

Ace Hardware Stores

We may share personal information with Ace Hardware stores in order to facilitate shipping, delivery, and assembly services related to purchases made on the Online Services, to assist in the resolution of disputes or customer services issues, to facilitate your membership in the Ace Rewards program, and to enable Ace Hardware stores to conduct their own marketing activities. Please note that most Ace Hardware stores are independently owned and operated, although some stores are owned by Ace affiliates.

Service Providers

We engage service providers to perform services in connection with the operation of our business. Examples of these services include, but are not limited to, operation of our Online Services, management of customer accounts and Ace Rewards accounts, payment processing and authorization, fraud protection and credit risk reduction, product customization, order fulfillment and shipping, gift card processing and management, advertising, market research, marketing and promotional activities and communications, affiliate advertising, sweepstakes and contest administration and fulfillment, Online Services evaluation, data analysis and data cleansing.

Social Media and Advertising Platforms

We may use social media and advertising platforms, such as Facebook® and Google, to serve advertisements to you or to third parties that the platform determines are similar to you. In order to offer these ads, we may share your personal information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, in hashed or unhashed format, with the platform provider, which can match this information to a particular platform user.

Marketing

We may make your personal information, together with information regarding your preferences, activity, purchases, and demographics, available to affiliates for purposes of conducting marketing activities on behalf of Ace, the affiliates, and/or or any other service providers.

Law, Security and Protection of Rights

We, or those with whom we have shared personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy, may release personal information if we believe in good faith that: the law or legal process requires it or expressly permits it; we have received a court order or administrative request from a law enforcement agency; or such release is necessary or advisable to protect the rights, property or safety of Ace, our retailers, or any of our respective affiliates, business partners, customers, users of the Online Services or others. We may also disclose Personal Information to enforce this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use, to troubleshoot problems, and to resolve disputes (including, without limitation, in connection with litigation or arbitration of any dispute between you and Ace or to assist us in the collection of amounts owed by you to us or to one of our business partners with whom you have authorized us to transact business on your behalf).

Sale, Transfer or Reorganization of Business

We reserve the right to transfer your personal information in connection with the sale or transfer of all or a portion of the business or assets of Ace to an entity in the event of a corporate transaction.

In addition to the foregoing circumstances, we may share your personal information when you authorize us to do so.

What Steps Are Taken To Keep Personal Information Secure?

We use various security measures to protect personal information that we collect. However, we cannot guarantee that your personal information will be secure from disclosure or misuse, either by accident or by unauthorized access or use.

In order to help protect your personal information, you should keep your account usernames and passwords secure and not provide them to others. If we request that you re-set your username and/or password, please do so promptly. If you wish to cancel a username or password, or if you become aware of any loss, theft or unauthorized use of a username or password, please contact our Customer Care Department by email at carecenter@acehardware.com or by phone at 888-827-4223.

How Can I Access, Correct and Update Personal Information?

If you are an account holder, you can access, correct, and update certain personal information by accessing your account through the Online Services, by clicking on the Sign In/Register button located on the acehardware.com home page. If you are an account holder with an Ace Rewards membership, you can update your Ace Rewards profile by linking your Ace Rewards account to your online account. You can also update certain personal information by contacting our Customer Care department by email at carecenter@acehardware.com or by phone at 888-827-4223. Please note that you may not be able to access or update all information we have about you.

Can I Indicate Whether or Not I Want To Receive Promotional Communications?

There are several ways in which you can tell us whether or not you want to receive promotional communications from us. If you are an account holder, you can indicate email preferences by accessing your account through the Online Services. If you place an order through the on Online Services, you will have an opportunity to make or change your selections in this regard. You also will have an opportunity to indicate your preferences by clicking on an “unsubscribe” hyperlink contained in promotional emails we send you or following the “unsubscribe” instructions in a notification or other message type. Even if you unsubscribe from our emails, you may continue to receive promotional emails from Ace Hardware stores. To unsubscribe from promotional email communications from an Ace Hardware store, please follow the instructions for unsubscribing in the store’s email. If you no longer wish to receive push notifications on your mobile device, please consult your mobile device’s user guide for instructions on how to disable push notifications.

What Happens When I Link To or From Another Web Site or Use Social Media or Product Review Features?

Other Ace websites, applications and digital services may be governed by different privacy policies. Please read the privacy policy posted on each Ace website, application or other digital service that you visit to understand the information collection, use and sharing practices that apply.

Our Online Services may contain links to other websites, applications or services operated by others. Please be advised that the practices described in this Privacy Policy do not apply to information gathered through these other websites, applications or services, including websites, applications or services operated by Ace Hardware stores, which are independently owned and operated.

If you have accessed our Online Services through a link from certain of our advertising or marketing partners, our Online Services may include a frame of the applicable advertising or marketing partner. Nevertheless, the information you provide to us through these framed Web pages is collected by us, and our use of this information is governed by this Privacy Policy.

Our Online Services offer you the ability interact with social media platforms, such as Facebook®, Twitter®, and Instagram®, and social commerce networks, such as PowerReviews. Please be advised that product reviews, user generated content, and other information you post or share with these platforms and networks, and any information gathered by the platforms and networks, will be governed by the privacy policy and terms of use of the applicable platform or network and not by this Privacy Policy. Please remember than any information you disclose in this manner will be publicly available. For example, any content you submit in connection with a product review may be posted on publicly-facing third-party websites in the PowerReviews network.

We encourage you to read the privacy policy and terms of use posted on each and every website, application, platform, network, or service that you access or use.

What About Contests and Sweepstakes?

When we run a contest or sweepstakes through our Online Services, it will be accompanied by a set of rules. If our use of your personal information gathered in connection with the contest or sweepstakes entry process is different from the terms of this Privacy Policy, the rules for such contest/sweepstakes will specify how that information will be used. If you win a contest or sweepstakes, additional provisions regarding the use of your personal information may be included in required winner’s affidavits and releases.

How Will I Be Informed About Changes Regarding This Privacy Policy?

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time without prior notice. Revised versions of this Privacy Policy will be posted on this page, together with an updated effective date. You should check this page periodically to see if any recent changes to this Privacy Policy have occurred. In some cases, we may post a notice of the revision on the Online Services and/or send an email or other communication notifying users of the changes. By downloading, installing, accessing, or using any of our Online Services after we post any such changes, you agree to the terms of the Privacy Policy as modified.

Additional Information for California Residents

The following provides information for California residents, as required under California privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). California privacy laws require that we provide California residents information about how we use their personal information, whether collected online or offline, and this portion of our Privacy Policy is intended to satisfy that requirement.

Under the CCPA, “personal information” is any information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular California resident or household. Please note that this definition of personal information applies to only this section of our Privacy Policy.

Categories of Personal Information that We Collect, Disclose, and Sell

Below please find the categories of personal information about California residents that we collect, sell, and/or disclose to third parties or service providers for a business purpose. Please see the sections above “What Information About Me Is Collected And How Does Ace Use It?” and “With Whom Do You Share Information? “for additional details regarding personal information collection, use, and disclosure.

California Residents’ Rights

California law grants California residents certain rights and imposes restrictions on particular business practices as set forth below.

Right to Opt-out. California residents have the right to opt-out of our sale of their personal information. Opt-out rights can be exercised on our Right to Opt-Out webform at acehardware.com or by calling the Care Center at 888-827-4223 or completing and mailing in a form at a California retail location. California’s definition of sale is broad and encompasses many types of data transfers. However, we do not “sell” any consumer data in the traditional sense for monetary compensation.

Right to Opt-out. California residents have the right to opt-out of our sale of their personal information. Opt-out rights can be exercised on our Right to Opt-Out webform at acehardware.com or by calling the Care Center at 888-827-4223 or completing and mailing in a form at a California retail location. California’s definition of sale is broad and encompasses many types of data transfers. However, we do not “sell” any consumer data in the traditional sense for monetary compensation.

Notice at Collection. We are required to notify California residents, at or before the point of collection of their personal information, the categories of personal information collected and the purposes for which such information is used.

Verifiable Requests to Delete, and Requests to Know. Subject to certain exceptions, California residents have the right to make the following requests, at no charge, up to twice every 12 months:

Submitting Requests. Requests to exercise the right of deletion, right to a copy, and / or the right to information may be submitted on our California Residents’ Rights Page at acehardware.com as well as, by contacting Customer Care at 888-827-4223 or by completing a form in our retail stores. We will respond to verifiable requests received from California consumers as required by law.

Right to Non-Discrimination, and Incentives. The CCPA prohibits discrimination against California residents for exercising their rights under the CCPA and imposes requirements on any financial incentives offered to California residents related to their personal information.

Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, California residents who provide Personal Information when obtaining products or services for personal, family, or household use are entitled to request and obtain from Ace certain information about the Personal Information we share, if any, with other businesses for their own direct marketing uses. To obtain this information, please contact us at carecenter@acehardware.com with “Request for California Privacy Information” in the subject line of your email. Please be aware that not all information sharing is covered by the “Shine the Light” requirements and only information on covered sharing will be included in our response.