Why Online Stores Need to Take Age Restrictions Seriously

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January 18, 2022 Business

Creating an online store is an excellent way to introduce your products to the market and reach a vast audience. With fast local, national, and international shipping, the number of potential customers can range in the millions. Moreover, with smartphones becoming ubiquitous, online shopping has never been more popular. Placing an order online is quick and convenient. Everyone can do it with a device they hold in their pocket 24/7. However, as the owner of an online store, you also have some responsibility towards your customers.

Read on to learn why online stores need to take age restrictions seriously when selling to a new customer.

Why Age Restrictions Exist?

Everyone who uses the Internet is familiar with the ‘I’m 18 years old’ checkbox. This checkbox is common in online stores due to the minimum age requirements in commerce. Age restrictions protect underage children from accessing adult content and various products or services unsuitable for them. Thus, if you offer an online service or product that is not meant for a younger audience, you need to verify the age of your customers. It is both a legal requirement and a social and moral responsibility.

The Importance of Age Verification Online

If you sell products that are not suitable for minors, taking age restrictions seriously is critical. You need to ensure you’re respecting the law. Moreover, by implementing a secure age verification process, you’re doing your part in protecting minors from potentially damaging activities. At the same time, you’re also protecting your brand from negative associations. Taking age restrictions seriously positions you favorably on the market because it is a sign of social and moral responsibility. Therefore, it helps you build trust and credibility.

As an online store owner, age verification is how you can keep online shopping safe for your customers. However, it can also help you protect your business from fraud and potential legal entanglements.

How to Conduct Age Verification

The best way to verify age online is to rely on dedicated age verification software, which provides secure and infallible results. An age verification process determines the online consumer’s age. It also detects attempts at fraud. However, each software works differently. When you add an ‘I’m 18 years old’ checkbox on your website, you have to trust that the Internet user who checks the box is honest. However, with the right age verification software, you no longer have to blindly trust the customer’s intentions. It’s not uncommon for minors to bypass even strict ID requirements by using a parent’s ID.

If your business needs to enforce strict age requirements, you need an age verification process that minors cannot sidestep. Advanced software that requires a photo or video identification guarantees secure age verification, for example. It’s vital to look at your options and choose what makes more sense for your business.

Is Age Verification Mandatory for Your Business?

When starting an online store, it’s vital to determine if the products you’re selling are age-restricted to make you’re complying with the law.

Here are examples of products whose sale is controlled by minimum age requirements (either 16 or 18) in various countries: alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, e-cigarettes, vaping products, smoking-based products like shisha, lottery tickets/scratch cards, fireworks, dangerous chemicals, and dangerous weapons such as knives, air weapons or crossbows. This list is not exhaustive, however. Check local legislation for more accurate, in-depth information.

Why Is Secure Age Verification Critical?

The law says that is the responsibility of retailers to ensure they do not sell age-restricted products to Internet users who are under the minimum legal age. As an online store owner, setting up a reliable age verification process can help you ensure you’re not committing a legal offense. The main benefit of secure age verification is peace of mind. You won’t have to be worried that a new customer may pose legal risks to your business.

With secure age verification, you’re taking all the proper measures to prevent minors from accessing products that may cause them harm. The harder it is for a minor to bypass your age verification process, the less you have to worry.

Final Words

Setting up an online store can be an easy way to enter the business world and carve out a niche for yourself on the market. However, even if selling online may seem easier than selling in brick-and-mortar stores, you still have the duty to respect retail and consumer protection laws.

Since the new generations are growing up with the Internet at their fingertips, it’s a moral responsibility to keep them away from products and services unsuitable for their age. Minimum age restrictions and secure age verification can keep online shopping safe for everyone.