Over half of online shoppers are now more conscious of security
A new study has found that 54% of online shoppers feel more conscious of their security online compared to 12 months ago following high profile security breaches at number of international retailers and brands.
A survey of 2,000 online consumers as part of eDigitalResearch’s and IMRG’s eCustomerServiceIndex found that 50% of those polled felt that retailers should be doing more to keep them safe online.
While some consumers thought that reminders to update passwords and security notifications would be helpful, the majority of respondents felt that it was up to retailers to invest in stringent security and privacy policies to keep customers safe when shopping online.
Derek Eccleston, commercial director at eDigitalResearch, said: “It is clear from our latest set of results that security really has become a crucial factor in the online customer journey for consumers. Onus from consumers is very much on retailers to invest in and improve their security measures for their online customers – over two thirds (67%) expect organisations to contact them immediately (within 6 hours) by email or phone if security had been breached and it leads to a potential loss of data.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Almost one in four of the consumers polled admitted that they or a family member had been a victim of a fraudulent transaction online.
The study also found that a significant percentage were not aware of basic security measures, such as regularly updating their passwords. Under half – 43% – said that they updated their passwords every three to six months, while 6% were not aware they could do this. In addition, just two thirds said they used different passwords for different sites.
Andrew McClelland, chief operating officer at IMRG said: “It is in retailers interests to ensure that their customers are safe when shopping online and they continue to invest in security measures. New data protection regulation from the European Parliament is due to come into force shortly, helping to raise the bar even further and providing consumers with further protection.”
