Retailers Face Rising Concerns for eCommerce Safety and Security

As more companies experience crippling hacks, security breaches, and identity thefts, concerns about ecommerce safety and security are rising. Compromised data is a lose-lose for companies and their customers. In our hyper-digital world, consumers need to trust the companies they choose to do business with. Compromised data is a sure-fire way to lose that trust.

Upward trends in ecommerce security threats are causing great concern this year, particularly for the retail industry. According to Security Magazine, data breaches in the first half of 2021 exposed more than 18.8 billion data records. The Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) indicates that 86% of those data breaches were financially motivated. And while large brands typically incur the highest costs, more than $4 million per incident on average, the majority of online safety and security threats continue to target smaller merchants.

IoT, cloud storage, and other factors are creating an explosion of data that could generate even greater safety and security issues in the future. In fact, experts at IDC predict that the amount of digital data created over the next five years will be more than twice the amount created since data storage became possible. Cybercrimes including DDoS attacks, phishing, malware, ransomware and e-skimming are on the rise, and companies must be prepared as vulnerabilities continue to be exposed.

Customer Expectations for Safety and Security

The importance of safety and security cannot be overestimated. Customers expect that a brand will protect their private information. When data breaches occur, companies can experience long term impacts due to reduced trust in the safety and security of their online transactions. For one retail brand that had a significant amount of customer data stolen, Brandweek reported that their Brand Index Rating fell more than 50% in one year – and has still not fully recovered years later.

Customers are growing increasingly worried about ecommerce security threats and the need for data protection. A recent survey by Trulioo showed that more than 70% of consumers worry brands are sacrificing safety and security for speed and convenience. It’s becoming clear that protecting consumer data online is not only the right thing to do, it can also give you a strong competitive advantage compared to brands who are not prioritizing consumer data safety. Customers expect safe and secure transactions, and 81% will simply stop engaging with a brand following a data breach. The same Ping Identity survey also reported that 63% of consumers believe that a company is “always responsible” for protecting their data.

Delivering Safe and Secure Interactions with Your Brand

There are many ways that companies can decrease the likelihood of ecommerce safety threats and maintain consumer trust with their brand. First and foremost, a clear data privacy policy that explains how all data is stored, collected, used, and shared is critical to meeting current customer expectations for safety and security.

Minimizing the availability of data by reducing the amount of data stored is another way to reduce risks. Secure ecommerce and contact center solutions will only save the data that is required, like names and addresses, while protecting saved and temporary data with sophisticated encryption techniques. Using a unified solution that provides frequent, timely updates is in a retailer’s best interest. Plus, you should consistently test your environment for potential vulnerabilities.

Whether it’s providing security for online transactions or technology that supports safer data management, Microsoft continues to be the leader when it comes to the safety and security of your customers’ online data. Its eCommerce platform solutions protect against online security threats while still offering a seamless, unified digital commerce experience for your customers.

Avtex can help you with safety and security by providing you secure payment options and ensuring that your customers’ data is kept private. Harnessing the power of Microsoft technology including Dynamics 365 Commerce and Dynamics 365 Fraud Protection, combined with our Launchpad for Commerce offering, we’ll get you up and running with a secure, reliable, unified commerce solution in 2-4 months.