Customer Service

West Marine Privacy Policy

Last Updated: March 24, 2026

West Marine Products, Inc. (“West Marine”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) values your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our westmarine.com website, our pro.westmarine.com business customer website (“West Marine Pro”), our West Marine Pro mobile application, visit our retail stores, and use our other consumer-facing services (collectively, our “Services”).

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide:

All Customers:

  • Account information (name, email, address, phone number, username, password)
  • Payment information (through our payment processors, including Affirm and PayPal)
  • Purchase history and preferences
  • Communications with customer service
  • Contest, survey, and promotion entries
  • Employment applications
  • Product reviews

Employment Candidates:

When you apply for employment with West Marine, we collect:

  • Personal identifiers (name, email address, physical address, telephone number)
  • Professional or employment information (resume, cover letter, employment history, educational history, references)
  • Information you provide during the application and interview process
  • Background check information (if you proceed to the hiring stage and consent to background checks)

West Marine Pro Business Customers:

  • Business information (company name, tax ID/EIN, business type, years in business)
  • Business contact information (names, titles, email addresses, phone numbers of authorized account users)
  • Credit application information (business financial information submitted for credit evaluation)
  • Purchase volume and payment history

Mobile App Users:

Our West Marine Pro mobile application collects information to provide shopping functionality and improve your experience.
Permissions You Control: Camera (scan barcodes—images processed locally and discarded), Location (find stores—coordinates sent to servers and not retained), and Push notifications (receive updates—disable anytime in device settings).

Information Collected Automatically: Device identifiers (IDFA on iOS with permission, GAID on Android, app-specific identifiers), shopping activity (product views, searches, cart actions, purchases, barcode scans), app usage (screen views, navigation, search queries, session data), and crash reports (error logs, device info, system state).

Data Stored Locally: Account information (email, name, favorite store, ZIP code), saved addresses, and app preferences/cached data.

Third-Party Services: Our app uses third-party services for analytics (Google Firebase, AppsFlyer), marketing (Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Airship), and functionality (Google Maps, barcode scanning). These services collect data independently under their own privacy policies and may combine it with other information they have about you.

Information Collected Automatically:

  • Device information (IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers)
  • Usage information (pages visited, links clicked, time spent, search queries)
  • Location information (ZIP code, general location from IP address)
  • Cookies and similar technologies (including pixels, web beacons, and tracking technologies in emails and on our website)
  • Email engagement information (opens, clicks, general location, and device type to improve our communications)
  • Chat transcripts (when you use our website chat feature, with notice provided at the start of the chat session)
  • Call recordings (West Marine Pro customer service only—see Section 3 for details)
  • In-store security camera footage (at our retail locations)
  • App usage data (pages viewed, features used, performance data, crash reports)

Information from Third Parties:

  • Social media platforms (when you connect your account or interact with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube)
  • Business partners and marketing partners
  • Publicly available sources
  • Credit reporting agencies: For West Marine Pro business customers, we obtain business credit reports from Experian to evaluate creditworthiness for commercial credit terms
  • Advertising and Analytics Partners: Our advertising partners (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, AdRoll/Yelp) and analytics providers (Google Analytics, Ascend, VWO, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, ZoomInfo) collect information directly from your browser through cookies and pixels they set on our website. This information includes your browsing activity, device identifiers, and online advertising identifiers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

For All Customers:

  • Process and fulfill orders, returns, and exchanges
  • Manage your account and loyalty program participation
  • Communicate about your orders, account, and customer service inquiries
  • Send marketing communications (with your consent where required)
  • Send text messages for marketing and transactional purposes (if you opt in)
  • Track email engagement including opens, clicks, general location, and device information to improve our communications, measure campaign effectiveness, and personalize your experience
  • Provide customer service via chat, phone, or email
  • Monitor our retail locations for security, loss prevention, and safety
  • Detect and prevent fraud, unauthorized transactions, and security incidents
  • Monitor for bot activity and malicious access attempts
  • Verify identity for high-risk transactions
  • Provide AI-powered features such as product recommendations and shopping assistance
  • Personalize your shopping experience
  • Improve our products, services, and website functionality
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Conduct analytics and research

For West Marine Pro Business Customers:

  • Evaluate creditworthiness: We use business information and credit reports from Experian to determine whether to extend commercial credit terms and set credit limits
  • Manage business accounts: Track purchase history, payment terms, credit limits, and account status
  • Assign account managers: Match business customers with dedicated sales representatives
  • Provide bulk pricing: Calculate and apply volume discounts based on purchase history

For Employment Candidates:

  • Process and evaluate employment applications
  • Communicate with you regarding your candidacy
  • Conduct background checks (with your consent)
  • Comply with employment law requirements
  • Maintain records as required by law

3. How We Share Your Information

Service Providers:

We share information with vendors who perform services on our behalf, including:

  • E-commerce and technology platforms: Website hosting, e-commerce infrastructure, payment processing
  • Mobile app platform provider: Provides mobile application infrastructure, hosting, and technical support
  • Customer service and communications: Chat technology, call center systems, email service providers
  • Employment Application Management: We use UKG to manage employment applications, recruiting, and onboarding processes
  • Credit evaluation: Credit reporting agencies that provide business credit reports for West Marine Pro customer applications
  • Payment processors (Affirm, PayPal) Shipping providers
  • IT support and cloud hosting Marketing services and analytics providers
  • Fraud prevention services (Accertify)
  • Bot protection services (PerimeterX)
  • Site search (Cimulate)
  • Live chat providers
  • Accessibility services
  • Performance monitoring (New Relic)

Chat and Call Recording:

  • Chat Disclosure: When you initiate a chat session on our website, you will see this notice: “Hi! I’m West Marine’s virtual assistant. By proceeding, you consent to West Marine and its vendors recording, storing, sharing and analyzing the content of your chat messages.” Chat transcripts are retained for one year for quality assurance and training purposes
  • Call Recording (West Marine Pro Only): Inbound calls to our West Marine Pro customer service line may be recorded for quality assurance and training purposes. You will hear a disclosure message at the beginning of recorded calls stating “This call is being recorded.” Outbound customer service calls are not recorded. Call recordings are retained for one year.

Business Transfers: If West Marine is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new entity.

Legal Requirements: We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or to protect our rights, property, or safety.

Marketing Partners: With your consent, we may share information with marketing partners for promotional purposes. You can opt out of this sharing.

Advertising Partners: We share information with advertising partners including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, AdRoll/Yelp, and other advertising networks for targeted advertising purposes. This may include sharing customer email addresses with advertising partners for targeted advertising programs. This may constitute a “sale” or “sharing” under certain state privacy laws.

Business Intelligence and Lead Management Partners (West Marine Pro): For West Marine Pro business customers, we share business contact information with ZoomInfo Technologies LLC for lead management and sales communication purposes. We also use ZoomInfo’s website tracking to identify companies visiting our Pro website for business development. West Marine Pro customers who opt out via our Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information form will be excluded from future data sharing with ZoomInfo. To exercise privacy rights regarding data already shared with ZoomInfo, contact them at privacy@zoominfo.com.

Loyalty Program Partners: For West Advantage Gold members, we share information with Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) to provide program benefits.

Aggregated Data: We may share anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify you personally.

Contractual Protections: All service providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for the purposes we specify.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies, pixels, web beacons, and similar technologies to:

  • Enable website functionality
  • Remember your preferences
  • Analyze website traffic and user behavior
  • Provide targeted advertising through partners
  • Detect and prevent fraud
  • Track email engagement

Website Tracking

We work with advertising and technology partners who deploy cookies and pixels on our website.

These partners include:

Advertising Partners: Google (Ads, Analytics, Tag Manager), Facebook, Microsoft Bing, AdRoll/Yelp, Shopper network, and other advertising platforms.

Technology Partners: Salesforce (Marketing Cloud and Einstein), Cimulate (site search), VWO (A/B testing),

Ascend/Pepperjam (affiliate marketing), ZoomInfo (B2B lead generation), and similar services.

These technologies collect information about your browsing activity and online identifiers to provide targeted advertising across the internet. This list includes our primary partners; we may work with additional advertising and technology service providers from time to time.

Email Tracking

When you open our marketing emails or click links, we collect information to help us understand what content is useful and improve your experience. This includes:

  • Which emails you open and which links you click
  • Your general location (city and region, based on your internet connection)
  • Whether you’re on mobile or desktop
  • When you interact with our emails

We use this to send you more relevant content and better time our communications.

Managing Email Tracking:

If you’d prefer not to be tracked, you have two options:

  • Unsubscribe from marketing emails (you’ll still receive order confirmations)
  • Turn off image loading in your email app (note: this affects all emails, not just ours)

Our “Do Not Sell or Share” form requests we don’t share your email address with advertising partners, but doesn’t affect this email tracking — for that, use the options above.

Telephone Calls

When you contact our West Marine Pro customer service by phone, your call may be recorded for quality assurance, training, and to maintain accurate records of our communications. You will be notified at the beginning of the call if recording is in effect with a message stating “This call is being recorded.” Outbound customer service calls are not recorded.

In-Store Security

Our retail locations use security cameras for loss prevention, asset protection, and the safety of customers and employees. Camera placement is designed to monitor public areas of the store. We do not use facial recognition or other biometric identification technology.

Text Message Marketing

If you provide your mobile phone number and opt in to receive text messages, you consent to receive marketing and transactional SMS and MMS messages from West Marine, our affiliates, and agents. These messages may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. You are not required to consent to marketing texts as a condition of purchase. Message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time by replying “STOP” to any marketing text message.

AI-Powered Features

We use artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies, including Salesforce Einstein and Cimulate Skipper, to provide personalized product recommendations and improved search results. We do not use AI to make decisions that produce legal effects or similarly significantly affect you, such as credit decisions, employment decisions, or insurance eligibility. For more information about our AI Shopping Assistant, including limitations and disclaimers, please see our Terms of Use.

Social Media Content

When we embed content from social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok), those platforms may set their own cookies. We don’t control these cookies. Please review each platform’s privacy policy for details.

Facebook Page Insights: When you interact with our Facebook page, Facebook provides us with anonymized, aggregated statistics about page views, demographics, and engagement. Facebook and West Marine are joint data controllers for this processing under EU law. Facebook is primarily responsible for providing notices and honoring individual rights regarding Page Insights data.

Managing Cookies

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or our Cookie Consent Manager available at Privacy Settings. Some cookies are essential for website operation and cannot be disabled.
For more details, see our Cookie Policy.

5. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

For All Users:

  • Opt out of marketing emails (click “unsubscribe” in any marketing email)
  • Access and update your account information
  • Close your account

For California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, and Residents of Other States with Applicable Privacy Laws:

  • Access your personal information
  • Correct inaccurate information
  • Delete your personal information (subject to legal and business record retention requirements)
  • Opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information
  • Opt out of targeted advertising
  • Limit use of sensitive personal information

We comply with applicable state comprehensive privacy laws, including those in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.

For EU/UK Residents:

  • Access, correct, or delete your information
  • Restrict or object to processing
  • Data portability
  • Withdraw consent
  • Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

To Exercise Your Rights:

Submit a request via our Privacy Request Form — Call us at (888) 569-3040 — Email us at privacy@westmarine.com
We will verify your identity before processing requests. You may designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf.

Global Privacy Control (GPC) (United States only):

We honor Global Privacy Control browser signals as legally-required opt-out requests for cookie-based tracking. When we detect a GPC signal from your browser:

  • We block marketing and advertising cookies from loading on your device
  • We stop browser-based tracking and sharing of your browsing activity with advertising partners through cookies and pixels
  • We display a confirmation message indicating your opt-out request has been honored

You can verify your opt-out status at any time on our Privacy Settings page. Your opt-out preference remains in effect as long as your GPC signal is active.

Note: GPC only controls cookie-based tracking. To opt out of all forms of data sharing, including customer list sharing with advertising partners (such as email addresses shared with advertising platforms), please visit our Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information page.

Do Not Track (DNT): We do not honor Do Not Track (DNT) browser signals. DNT is a deprecated browser feature that was never standardized and has been superseded by Global Privacy Control for legal compliance purposes.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information: If you prefer not to use GPC, or want to opt out while continuing to receive personalized advertising, visit our Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information page to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information. However, no security measures are perfect, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide our Services, fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, or comply with legal obligations. When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it.

As a general guideline:

  • Account information: Retained while account is active plus 7 years for transaction records
  • West Marine Pro business account records: We retain Pro business account information, purchase history, credit applications, and payment records for 7 years after account closure to comply with business recordkeeping, tax, and commercial law requirements
  • Marketing preferences: Retained until you opt out
  • Website cookies: As specified in our Cookie Policy (typically 90 days to 2 years)
  • Customer service records: 7 years
  • Chat transcripts and call recordings: 1 year for quality assurance and training purposes
  • Employment applications: 2 years for candidates not hired (as required by employment law)
  • Security camera footage: 30-90 days unless incident requires retention

When information is no longer needed, we securely delete or anonymize it. Some information must be retained longer to comply with legal obligations such as:

  • Tax and accounting records (7 years)
  • Transaction records for fraud prevention (as required by payment card industry rules)
  • Records subject to legal holds or pending litigation

8. Children’s Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

California Minors: California residents under 18 may request removal of publicly posted content by contacting privacy@westmarine.com.

9. International Data Transfers

If you access our Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States. We implement appropriate safeguards for international transfers, including Standard Contractual Clauses where required by law.

10. Third-Party Links

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy with a new “Last Updated” date.

If we make changes that materially expand how we use or share your personal information, we will notify you by email or prominent notice on our website.

12. Contact Us

Privacy Contact
Email: privacy@westmarine.com
Phone: (888) 569-3040
Mail:
West Marine Products, Inc.
Attn: Privacy Inquiries
1 East Broward Blvd Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

State-Specific Notices

California Residents

Notice at Collection: We collect the following categories of personal information: identifiers, financial information (including credit reports for Pro customers), commercial information, internet activity, geolocation data, audio/visual information (including chat transcripts and call recordings), professional information (for Pro business customers and employment candidates), and inferences. We use this information for the purposes described above.

Categories Disclosed for Business Purposes: We disclose all categories listed above to service providers.

Sale/Sharing: We “sell” or “share” identifiers and internet activity with advertising partners. We share identifiers and commercial information with marketing partners.

Financial Incentive (Notice Required by CCPA):

We offer the West Advantage loyalty program, which provides financial benefits in exchange for your personal information:

  • Silver Membership (Free): Earn 1% back on eligible purchases, receive $5 rewards for every $500 spent, and access to members-only sales and events.
  • Gold Membership ($25/year): Earn 4% back on eligible purchases, receive $10 rewards for every $250 spent, $15 off $100 welcome coupon, access to members-only sales and events, and Basic BoatU.S. membership benefits including 24/7 towing dispatch.
  • How to participate: Create an account and enroll in West Advantage through our website or in-store.
  • How to withdraw: Email privacy@westmarine.com with “Opt-Out West Advantage” in the subject line
  • Value methodology: The value of your personal information to our business is reasonably related to the rewards provided

We calculate this value based on:

  • Revenue generated from personalized marketing enabled by your data
  • Increased customer lifetime value from program participation
  • Costs of program operation and rewards fulfillment
  • Competitive market analysis of similar loyalty programs. The rewards you receive (1–4% back on purchases plus additional benefits) reflect our good-faith estimate of this value.

Shine the Light: You may request information about third-party data sharing for direct marketing purposes once per year by emailing privacy@westmarine.com.

Nevada Residents

Nevada residents may opt out of the sale of personal information by emailing privacy@westmarine.com with “Nevada Opt-Out” in the subject line.

Additional Information

Legal Basis for Processing (EU/UK):

We process your personal data under the following legal bases as required by EU and UK data protection law:

  • Contract Performance: Processing necessary to fulfill your orders, manage your account, and provide customer service
  • Legitimate Interests: Website analytics, fraud prevention, security monitoring, marketing to existing customers, and business operations. We balance these interests against your privacy rights.
  • Legal Compliance: Responding to law enforcement, complying with tax and accounting obligations, and meeting regulatory requirements
  • Your Consent: Marketing communications to new customers, non-essential cookies, and social media interactions where consent is required

Our Legitimate Interests (EU/UK): Where we rely on legitimate interests, these include: improving our products and services, preventing fraud and enhancing security, understanding how customers use our website to improve user experience, conducting direct marketing to existing customers, operating our business efficiently, and defending legal claims.

Complaints (EU/UK): You may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Find yours at https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en or https://ico.org.uk/.