THE HIP STORE 22 LTD Back to Home

Cookie Policy

Last updated: 29 October 2025

Introduction

This Cookie Policy explains how THE HIP STORE 22 LTD ("we", "us", "our", or "the Company") uses cookies and similar technologies on our website. This policy provides you with clear and comprehensive information about the cookies we use, why we use them, and how you can manage your cookie preferences.

By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies in accordance with this Cookie Policy. If you do not agree to our use of cookies in this way, you should set your browser settings accordingly or not use our website. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

1. What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer, smartphone, tablet, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and to provide information to the website owners.

Cookies contain information that is transferred to your device's hard drive. They help us recognize your device when you return to our website, remember your preferences, and provide you with a better, more personalized experience.

1.1 Types of Cookies

Session Cookies: These are temporary cookies that expire when you close your browser. They allow our website to link your actions during a single browsing session.

Persistent Cookies: These remain on your device for a set period specified in the cookie or until you manually delete them. They enable our website to recognize you when you return and remember your preferences.

First-Party Cookies: These are set directly by our website and can only be read by our website.

Third-Party Cookies: These are set by a domain other than the one you are visiting, typically used for advertising and analytics purposes.

2. How We Use Cookies

We use cookies for several important reasons. Our cookies fall into the following categories:

2.1 Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are essential for the operation of our website. They enable basic functions like page navigation, access to secure areas, and remembering your cookie consent preferences. Our website cannot function properly without these cookies, and they cannot be switched off in our systems.

Examples of strictly necessary cookies include:

  • Session Management: Maintaining your session as you navigate through different pages.
  • Security: Detecting and preventing security risks, fraud, and abuse.
  • Cookie Consent: Remembering your cookie preferences and consent choices.
  • Load Balancing: Distributing website traffic across our servers for optimal performance.
  • Accessibility: Storing accessibility preferences such as text size and contrast settings.

Legal Basis: These cookies are used based on our legitimate interests in operating our website and providing our services securely and efficiently.

2.2 Performance and Analytics Cookies

These cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website by collecting and reporting information anonymously. They allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors, see how visitors move around the website, and identify which pages are most and least popular.

Information collected includes:

  • Number of visitors to our website
  • Pages visited and time spent on each page
  • How visitors arrived at our website (referral sources)
  • Geographic location (country/city level only)
  • Device type, browser, and operating system
  • Screen resolution and viewport size
  • Click patterns and user journey through the website
  • Error messages and technical issues encountered

Why we use analytics cookies:

  • To improve website performance and user experience
  • To identify and fix technical issues
  • To understand which content is most valuable to visitors
  • To optimize our website structure and navigation
  • To make informed decisions about website improvements

Analytics Tools We Use:

  • Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to analyze website usage. Google Analytics generates statistical and other information about website use by means of cookies. The information collected is used to create reports about website usage. Google's privacy policy is available at: https://policies.google.com/privacy

Legal Basis: For UK/EEA visitors, we only use analytics cookies with your explicit consent. For visitors from other regions, we may use these cookies based on legitimate interests.

2.3 Functionality Cookies

These cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. They remember choices you make (such as your language preference or the region you are in) to provide a more personalized experience.

Functions enabled by these cookies:

  • Remembering your language and region preferences
  • Saving form data so you don't have to re-enter information
  • Storing your contact preferences
  • Customizing content based on your interests
  • Remembering video player settings
  • Enabling social media features and sharing

Legal Basis: We use these cookies based on your consent and our legitimate interest in providing you with a better user experience.

2.4 Targeting and Advertising Cookies (Currently Not Used)

We do not currently use targeting or advertising cookies. However, in the future, we may use these cookies to deliver advertisements that are relevant to your interests. If we decide to implement such cookies, we will update this policy and obtain your consent where required by law.

3. Specific Cookies We Use

Below is a detailed list of the cookies we use on our website:

3.1 Essential Cookies

Cookie Name Purpose Duration
cookieConsent Stores your cookie consent preferences 1 year
sessionId Maintains your session across page visits Session (deleted when browser closes)

3.2 Analytics Cookies (Only with Consent)

Cookie Name Purpose Duration
_ga Google Analytics: Distinguishes unique users 2 years
_gid Google Analytics: Distinguishes unique users 24 hours
_gat Google Analytics: Throttles request rate 1 minute

4. Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You have the right to decide whether to accept or reject cookies. You can exercise your cookie preferences in several ways:

4.1 Cookie Consent Banner

When you first visit our website, you will see a cookie consent banner that allows you to accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can modify your preferences at any time by clearing your cookies and revisiting our website, or by using the cookie settings link in our website footer (if available).

4.2 Browser Settings

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, if you block or delete cookies, some features of our website may not function properly.

How to manage cookies in popular browsers:

  • Google Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Cookies and other site data
  • Mozilla Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data
  • Safari: Preferences → Privacy → Cookies and website data
  • Microsoft Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Cookies and site data
  • Opera: Settings → Privacy & security → Cookies

For more information about cookies and how to manage them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org or www.aboutcookies.org.

4.3 Opting Out of Analytics

You can opt out of Google Analytics without affecting how you visit our website. For more information on opting out of being tracked by Google Analytics, visit:

4.4 Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers have a "Do Not Track" feature that signals to websites that you do not want your online activities tracked. Currently, there is no industry standard for how to respond to Do Not Track signals, and we do not currently respond to them. We will continue to monitor developments in this area.

5. Impact of Disabling Cookies

If you choose to disable cookies, you may not be able to take full advantage of our website. Specifically:

  • Essential Cookies: Blocking these may prevent you from accessing certain areas of our website or cause features to malfunction.
  • Analytics Cookies: Blocking these will prevent us from understanding how you use our website, which may result in a less optimized experience.
  • Functionality Cookies: Blocking these means we won't remember your preferences, and you may need to re-enter information or adjust settings each time you visit.

6. Other Tracking Technologies

In addition to cookies, we may use other tracking technologies:

6.1 Web Beacons (Pixel Tags)

Web beacons are tiny graphics (sometimes called "clear GIFs" or "pixel tags") with a unique identifier that track online movements of web users. Unlike cookies, which are stored on your device, web beacons are embedded invisibly on web pages. We may use web beacons to track email open rates and user interactions.

6.2 Local Storage

We may use local storage technologies (such as HTML5 local storage and IndexedDB) to store preferences and improve website performance. These technologies are similar to cookies but can store larger amounts of data.

6.3 Session Replay Tools

We may use session replay tools to record anonymized sessions of how visitors interact with our website (mouse movements, clicks, scrolling). This helps us identify usability issues and improve user experience. Personal data such as passwords and payment information is automatically masked.

7. Cookies from Third-Party Services

When you use our website, you may notice some cookies that are not related to our website. This happens when you visit a page with content embedded from third parties (such as YouTube videos, social media plugins, or maps).

We do not control these third-party cookies. For more information about these cookies, please check the relevant third party's website:

8. Legal Basis for Using Cookies

Under UK and EU privacy laws, we must have a lawful basis for using cookies:

  • Strictly Necessary Cookies: We use these based on our legitimate interest in providing our website and services securely. These do not require consent.
  • Non-Essential Cookies: For UK and EU visitors, we obtain your explicit consent before setting analytics, functionality, or marketing cookies. Your consent is obtained through our cookie banner when you first visit our website.

9. Updates to Cookies We Use

We may update the cookies we use from time to time to improve our website or comply with legal requirements. We recommend that you check this Cookie Policy periodically to stay informed about our use of cookies.

10. Cookie Retention Periods

Different cookies have different lifespans:

  • Session Cookies: Automatically deleted when you close your browser.
  • Persistent Cookies: Remain on your device for a set period (ranging from hours to years) or until you manually delete them.
  • Cookie Consent: Stored for 1 year, after which you may be asked for consent again.
  • Analytics Cookies: Typically stored for up to 26 months.

11. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If we discover that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 16 through cookies, we will delete it immediately.

12. International Data Transfers

Some of the cookies we use may result in data being transferred to countries outside the UK or European Economic Area (EEA). When this happens, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place as described in our Privacy Policy.

13. Your Rights

You have rights regarding cookies and the data they collect:

  • Right to Withdraw Consent: You can withdraw consent for non-essential cookies at any time by adjusting your browser settings or clearing your cookies.
  • Right to Access: You can request information about the data collected through cookies.
  • Right to Deletion: You can delete cookies from your browser at any time.
  • Right to Object: You can object to the use of cookies for certain purposes, such as analytics.

14. Questions and Complaints

If you have any questions about our use of cookies or wish to make a complaint, please contact us using the details below. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) if you believe our use of cookies violates your privacy rights.

15. Changes to This Cookie Policy

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, legislation, or our business operations. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy indicates when it was last revised. We encourage you to review this Cookie Policy regularly.

If we make material changes to how we use cookies, we will notify you by:

  • Posting a notice on our website
  • Updating the "Last Updated" date
  • Providing prominent notification when you next visit our website

16. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Cookie Policy or our use of cookies, please contact us:

THE HIP STORE 22 LTD
9 The Avenue, Wembley, England, HA9 9PD
Company number: 16395814
Email: hello@hip22.co.uk
Phone: 07749 658353

We are committed to transparency and will be happy to provide additional information about our cookie practices.

17. Additional Resources

For more information about cookies and online privacy:

This Cookie Policy was last updated on 29 October 2025 and is effective as of that date.