Cookie Policy
Last Updated: July 04, 2025
At Asian Trader, part of Asian Trade Publications Ltd, we recognise that digital trust underpins our relationship with independent retailers, FMCG suppliers, wholesalers, and advertisers. This Cookie Policy explains how we use cookies on www.asiantrader.biz to enhance user experience, personalise content, measure engagement, and optimise advertising performance.
Cookies are essential to how we deliver value, from tracking readership trends to improving newsletter impact and ensuring ROI for our commercial partners.
We comply with the UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, and PECR. For more on how we handle personal data, please see our Privacy Policy, which should be read alongside this document.
We are strictly for users aged 18 and over. Our content and cookies are not intended for anyone under the age of 18.
What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files placed on your device when you visit a website. They record essential and optional data to help enhance functionality, navigation, and personalised content delivery. This helps us maintain a seamless experience across sessions.
Cookies allow us to remember actions you've taken on the site,, such as saving articles, responding to surveys, or accepting an offer from a sponsor without requiring you to repeat those steps later.
Types of cookies include:
- Session cookies: Temporary and deleted once your session ends. Useful for secure logins and navigating the site without interruptions.
- Persistent cookies: Stored on your device across sessions. Help us remember your preferences or show relevant promotions over time.
- First-party cookies: Created directly by Asian Trader. For example, when you log in or set article display preferences.
- Third-party cookies: Set by external providers (e.g., analytics platforms, social media trackers, or ad networks) whose services are integrated into our platform.
Cookie Settings on Shared Devices
If your business operates with shared terminals or communal tablets, as many stores do. In that case, we recommend that cookie settings are checked regularly to ensure they reflect the most recent user’s preferences.
Cookies by themselves do not reveal your identity. However, when paired with other data (like your IP address or user account), they may be used to associate actions with a business profile.
Why We Use Cookies
Cookies are essential to delivering a secure, personalised, and commercially effective experience for both our editorial and advertiser communities.
We use them to:
Purpose | Description |
Platform Functionality | Maintains user sessions, supports secure logins, manages newsletter subscriptions, and enables interactive form usage. |
Usability & Preference Management | Stores visitor preferences such as region, sector focus, and preferred content format (e.g., text, video, audio). |
Editorial Development | Aggregates anonymous usage data to identify which articles, categories, or sectors are most valuable to our professional audience. |
Advertising Performance Measurement | Tracks ad impressions, click-through rates, and user dwell time on banners, sponsored series, and branded content. |
Commercial Tool Engagement | Monitors interaction with features like price comparison tables, partner promotions, downloadable resources, or third-party vendor offerings. |
Targeted Marketing | Enables delivery of relevant, tailored ads based on business type (e.g., forecourt retailer, supplier, distributor, or FMCG brand). |
In short, cookies help us balance data-led innovation with user experience, delivering value to both readers and commercial partners.
Types of Cookies We Use
To help you understand how cookies are used on our website, we classify them into the following categories:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Enable you to browse our website and use core features like secure logins, account management, and transaction completion.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to remember the choices you make, such as your preferred region or display settings, to provide enhanced and personalised features.
Performance / Analytics Cookies
Collect information on how you interact with our website — which pages you visit most, how long you stay, where users drop off, and whether you're using a mobile device or desktop.
This helps us improve smarter content distribution.
Marketing / Targeting Cookies
These cookies support personalised advertising and commercial partnerships. They help ensure ads and promotions are relevant based on your browsing behaviour, sector, and location.
They also allow us to track and report performance metrics back to advertisers, helping sustain the business model behind our free content.
Third-Party Cookies and External Services
Below is a list of verified third-party services currently active on www.asiantrader.biz. Each third party is contractually obligated to comply with UK GDPR and PECR. For detailed policies, visit their linked pages:
Category | Provider | Purpose | Privacy Policy link |
Analytics & Tracking | Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Microsoft Clarity | Website analytics and performance tracking | |
Advertising & Monetisation | Google AdSense / Google Ads | Ad display, optimisation, and targeting | |
Content Hosting | RebelMouse | Content management and layout delivery | |
Cloudflare | Secure content delivery and bot protection | ||
Email Marketing | Mailchimp (Intuit) | Sending newsletters and managing subscriptions | |
Campaign Monitor | Email communications | ||
Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter/X | Embedded buttons and share interactions | ||
Embedded Media | YouTube, Instagram, Twitter/X | Displaying videos and social media content | |
Analytics & Tracking | Microsoft | Website analytics and performance tracking, UX analysis and session replays | |
Web Fonts & UI Assets | Google Fonts | Serving consistent fonts and styles |
Each partner is contractually obligated to meet UK GDPR compliance standards, and their practices are reviewed regularly to ensure alignment with our privacy commitments.
Cookie Declaration Table
Cookie Name | Purpose | Category | Provider | Retention / Expiry | Legal Basis |
Essential / Functional | |||||
cookie_consent | Stores your cookie preferences (accepted/declined categories) | Essential | First-Party | 1 year | Legitimate interest |
session_id | Maintains your logged-in session and cart contents | Essential | First-Party | Session | Legitimate interest |
PHPSESSID | PHP engine’s session identifier, keeps pages loading correctly | Essential | First-Party | Session | Legitimate interest |
language | Remembers your language or locale preference | Functional | First-Party | 1 year | Consent |
currency | Stores your chosen currency for pricing display | Functional | First-Party | 1 year | Consent |
ANONCHK | Checks if MUID is transferred correctly between Microsoft domains. | Functional | Microsoft | 10 minutes | Legitimate interest |
SM | Synchronises the MUID across Microsoft domains. | Functional | Microsoft | End of session | Legitimate interests |
Analytics / Performance | |||||
_ga | Distinguishes unique visitors | Analytics | Google Analytics | 2 years | Consent |
_gid | Differentiates users | Analytics | Google Analytics | 24 hours | Consent |
_gat | Throttles request rate to Google Analytics | Analytics | Google Analytics | 1 minute | Consent |
_clck | Persists the Clarity User ID and preferences across sessions and sites | Analytics | Clarity | 12 Months | Consent |
collect | Sends pageview/event data to Google Analytics endpoint | Analytics | Google Analytics | Session | Consent |
_clsk | Connects multiple page views by a user into a single Clarity session recording. | Analytics | Clarity | 30 minutes | Legitimate interests |
CLID | Identifies the first-time Clarity user from this browser. | Analytics | Clarity | 12 Months | Legitimate interests |
Marketing / Advertising | |||||
__gads | Supports ad serving via Google Ad Manager | Marketing | 13 months | Consent | |
IDE | Google DoubleClick, shows ads based on browsing behaviour | Marketing | Google (DoubleClick) | 13 months | Consent |
_fbp | Facebook pixel for ad measurement and retargeting | Marketing | Meta Platforms | 3 months | Consent |
fr | Facebook ad targeting | Marketing | Meta Platforms | 3 months | Consent |
pubcid | Programmatic ad bidding: shared user ID | Marketing | Publisher First | 6 months | Consent |
uid | Criteo user ID for personalized retargeting | Marketing | Criteo | 13 months | Consent |
MUID | Used by Microsoft for identifying unique users across Microsoft domains | Marketing | Microsoft | 1 Year | Consent |
MR | Used for analytics and ad targeting on Microsoft platforms. | Marketing | Microsoft | 7 days | Consent |
Preferences | |||||
pref_news_category | Stores your chosen news categories (e.g., Technology, Retail, Healthcare) | Preference | First-Party | 1 year | Consent |
pref_email_subscribed | Remembers your email newsletter subscription status | Preference | First-Party | 1 year | Consent |
Consent Management Platform (CMP) Cookie | |||||
CookieConsent / OptanonConsent / euconsent-v2 | Stores the user's consent choices as required by GDPR/TCF | Essential | CMP Provider | 1 year | Legitimate Interest |
Social Sharing Cookies | |||||
personalization_id | Twitter sharing and advertising | Marketing | 2 years | Consent | |
lang | Stores Twitter language preference | Preference | Session | Consent | |
Newsletter / Email Tracking | |||||
_mcid | Tracks newsletter engagement & interactions | Marketing | Mailchimp | 1 year | Consent |
popup_shown | Prevents reshowing the newsletter popup | Functional | First-Party | 1 week | Consent |
International Transfers of Cookie Data
Certain third-party services may process your cookie-related data outside the UK or EEA, particularly in countries like the United States.
We ensure that one or more of the following are in place:
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
- Binding Corporate Rules
- Appropriate Data Transfer Impact Assessments (DTIAs)
- Certifications under approved data protection frameworks
Our aim is to guarantee that your commercial data and that of your business remains protected, regardless of jurisdiction.
Managing Your Cookie Consent
Upon your first visit, you’ll see a cookie banner offering three options:
- Accept all cookies
- Reject non-essential cookies
- Customise preferences by category
Your decision is stored securely within our Consent Management Platform (CMP). You can modify your choices at any time by clicking the “Cookie Settings” link in the footer of every page.
We never deploy non-essential cookies without your informed consent.
For shared business environments, we recommend reviewing cookie settings before beginning each session, especially if different staff members share devices.
How Long Do Cookies Stay on Your Device
Cookies each have their own lifespan depending on their purpose. This is managed by setting an expiry date when the cookie is placed.
In general:
Session cookies expire when you close your browser.
Persistent cookies may last from a few days to up to two years.
We periodically review our cookie usage to ensure all cookies in use are necessary, functional, and appropriately timed. You may also manage and delete cookies manually through your browser settings.
Your Rights Under the UK GDPR
You have rights relating to any personal data collected about you through cookies and other tracking technologies. These rights include:
- The right to be informed about how your data is collected and used
- The right of access to see what data we hold about you
- The right to rectification if the data is incorrect or incomplete
- The right to erasure (the “right to be forgotten”) in certain cases
- The right to restrict the processing of your data
- The right to object to data processing for certain purposes, such as direct marketing
- The right to withdraw your consent at any time
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in the “Contact Us” section below. We aim to respond to all requests within one calendar month.
Profiling and Automated Decision-Making
We do not use cookies or tracking technologies to make decisions that produce legal effects or similarly significant consequences for individuals without human involvement, as defined under Article 22 of the UK GDPR.
However, where marketing or analytics cookies are used, they may enable the creation of user segments or interest categories based on browsing activity. For example, users may be grouped based on engagement with content related to specific retail sectors (such as tobacco or convenience technology). This process is referred to as profiling. This allows us or our advertising partners to tailor content and advertisements to better match general user interests.
Cookie identifiers, such as IP addresses, device IDs, and browsing patterns, are treated as personal data under the UK GDPR. Any profiling or personalisation based on this data is conducted only where you have given explicit consent, and it is subject to appropriate safeguards to ensure fairness, transparency, and the protection of your rights.
How We Update This Policy
This Cookie Policy is updated periodically to reflect changes in technology, commercial strategy, or legal obligations.
We will update the “Last updated” date accordingly. If changes significantly alter how cookies function or how consent is handled, we may request that you review and reset your preferences.
We encourage regular visitors, especially advertisers, retailers, and site partners, to revisit this policy as part of their compliance processes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Cookie Policy or about how we use cookies and similar technologies, please contact:
Asian Trade Publications Ltd,
1–3 Silex Street,
London SE1 0DW,
United Kingdom.
Email: data@amg.biz
Making a Complaint
You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you believe your rights have been violated:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane, Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Phone: 0303 123 1113
We encourage you to contact us first so we can resolve your concerns swiftly and in line with our commitment to professional responsibility.
