Fraud

Following several years of exponential growth, e-commerce is bracing for lean times ahead. Online retailers are contending with economic headwinds fueled by a global conflict, a drawn-out pandemic, and rising inflation. A June 2022 survey reveals that 83 percent of Americans are cutting back on personal spending due to increased inflation. Online payment fraud is also…

Online consumer behavior and expectations have evolved rapidly since the start of the pandemic, and they’re going into the holiday shopping season with higher expectations than ever for great experiences. Now that two-thirds of consumers say they’re “likely to switch companies for a better digital experience,” getting customer experience (CX) right is critical to maintaining…

Many brands launch gift card programs for all the right reasons: incremental sales, new customer acquisition, brand recognition, build customer loyalty, and more. Plus, consumers thrive on promotions, with 80 percent saying they plan to purchase more gift cards in 2022. However, gift card programs do come with risks. Unfortunately, gift cards are an appealing target…

For many years I played blackjack professionally. In that time, countless amateur players would provide advice on how to play, attributing their expertise to a "system" they developed. I respected the ones who were at the table employing their system (even though they always ended up going broke). The true grifters were the ones who'…

As back-to-school season kicks into high gear and holiday-driven spending looms in the distance, retailers across the country are using loyalty point programs to build relationships with customers and incentivize them to return for future purchases, driven by the promise of discounts, perks, exclusive benefits and more. However, over the last year, and especially during…

Each holiday shopping period presents massive opportunities for advertisers. Many online retailers are preparing their media campaigns to take advantage of the expected surges in traffic, both in-store and online. With the global economy, and consumer behavior, impacted by COVID-19, successful shopping seasons are more important than ever. Retailers are targeting an increasingly digitally savvy…

Shoppers have always valued time and convenience, and the last thing they want is to wait in a line. Offering a number of checkout options, such as self-serve kiosks, is critical to ensuring consumers can be in and out of a store quickly. However, after the introduction of self-checkout, retailers commonly face increased fraud and…

Retail e-commerce sales surpassed $4.9 trillion worldwide last year and are predicted to exceed $5.5 trillion by the end of 2022. However, to eight out of 10 small to midsize business (SMB) owners, those numbers aren't striking joy as worries over a looming recession mount. Over half of Wall Street's investment and economic professionals seem to…

If there’s a way to make a few bucks on the side, pull a fast one, or game the system, you know there’s always someone prepared to try their luck. Even when retailers offer generous money-off promos or discounts, there’s always someone who wants more. So called "policy abuse" — i.e., when a retailer’s refund…

Retailers know the pandemic transformed e-commerce with a flood of orders from existing customers, brand-new online shoppers, and consumers from other countries. Of course, order volume and customer profiles aren’t the only e-commerce changes since March 2020. Understanding the nuances of those changes is critical for online retail success now. To get a clearer picture…