Retail is all about the money. So when online retailers make payments easier for consumers, those consumers become more likely to shop with them again. That opportunity, however, presents a challenge for retailers to make payments easier for consumers while making fraud difficult for criminals to pull off.
Online retailers added buy-now-pay-later payment (BNPL) methods in 2023, continuing a trend that boomed in 2022. U.S. consumers used BNPL for $8.3 billion in online orders between Nov. 1 and Nov. 27, according to Adobe Analytics, up 17% year over year. Some online retailers even went fully digital, adding cryptocurrency payments to their ecommerce sites. On the flip side, retailers like Lowe’s piloted a way to prevent in-store theft that lead to sales of stolen products on secondary marketplaces. Other retailers added automation to their fraud-detection processes.
Below, we recap some of Digital Commerce 360’s best coverage about online payments — and the fraud attempts accompanying them — in 2023. These stories highlight meaningful payments and fraud trends from last year, showing how online retailers are staying focused on their bottom lines.
What did online retailers do in 2023 to make payments easier for consumers?
Online price matching: pros and cons
Guaranteeing to match the online prices of competitors makes sense in categories like consumer electronics, where it’s easy for shoppers to compare prices on branded products. But one expert says price-matching is less important today now that many big brands limit online discounting.
Price cuts coming for accepting online debit?
The Federal Reserve is proposing to reduce its price cap for transactions from big debit card issuers by more than 25%. What are the specifics, and what does it all mean for card-accepting merchants?
Etsy Payments expands to seven more countries
The technology helps both sellers and buyers make relevant options available across the global marketplace, an executive said.
PayPal usage among Top 1000 retailers up 7.3%
Online payment system PayPal Holdings Inc. is accepted at 82.8% of the online retailers ranked in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 1000.
Demand for buy now, pay later (BNPL) increases
Apple launches long-awaited Apple Pay Later
Apple throws its hat into the buy-now-pay-later ring with the official launch of its own BNPL service: Apple Pay Later.
Apple Pay Later threatens other BNPL services, experts say
Industry experts weigh in on how Apple’s buy-now-pay-later service, Apple Pay Later, is an opportunity for retailers to grow their market share. But it is important to be transparent with consumers.
BNPL is a low-risk option for attracting new customers
Executives at Overstock and Forever 21 say buy now, pay later lets consumers without access to traditional credit buy their products. But an increase in BNPL payments could lead to a debt problem, experts say.
Some customers distraught after duplicate charges from BNPL service Affirm
Some buy-now-pay-later Affirm users were incorrectly charged multiple times for their loan payments Jan. 13.
Affirm cuts 19% of workforce, reports losses for fiscal Q2 2023
Buy-now-pay-later vendor Affirm Holdings Inc. cut 19% of its workforce. The BNPL provider reported a loss of $322.5 million in its fiscal Q2 2023.
Overstock CEO says customers are using BNPL for purchases as low as $10
Younger customers without established credit history are the most likely to use the service, CEO Jonathan Johnson said.
Ikea adds BNPL late in the game — why?
Ikea added buy now, pay later for orders ranging from $40-$500. Why now and why the $500 limit? The retailer weighs in.
Consumers embrace buy now, pay later during Cyber 5
Buy-now-pay-later spending reached record levels during Cyber 5, putting November on track to be the biggest month yet.
Online retailers implement cryptocurrency payment options
Is offering cryptocurrency at checkout worth the reward for retailers?
Cryptocurrency payments are still a nascent payment form for online retailers. And rightly so, as the digital currency is notoriously volatile — the value can change dramatically in any single day. Two top online retailers that accept cryptocurrency payments have outsourced the headache of complying with ever-changing regulations and money-laundering worries to appeal to consumers with cryptocurrency to spend.
Shop.com: ‘Low cost’ of outsourcing cryptocurrency processing is worth avoiding possible legal missteps
Shop.com says the 1% transaction fee to outsource cryptocurrency processing at checkout is worth it. Offering cryptocurrency gives customers more options to pay, while BitPay ensures the retailer is in line with rules and regulations.
Watch reseller offers cryptocurrency at checkout to entice international shoppers
A portion of luxury watch reseller WatchBox’s international customers prefer to pay using cryptocurrency instead of wire transfer. While it is a small percentage of the retailer’s total $500 million in online sales, it is an important option, the retailer says.
With payments come fraud attempts. How did online retailers address fraud in 2023?
Lowe’s pilots new way to prevent theft at stores, sales of stolen goods on secondary marketplaces
Lowes’ Project Unlock uses point-of-sale activation and a transparent record solution as a technology-forward and low-cost way to prevent theft at physical stores. But it puts the onus on purchasers to verify if they are purchasing a stolen item in the secondary market.
Sportitude cuts fraud costs by 55%
After switching its fraud prevention technology, footwear merchant Sportitude says fewer transactions are flagged as potentially fraudulent, requiring manual review to approve. But its fraud rate has stayed the same while its costs have decreased.
Will AI power all of fraud management?
Fraud prevention technology powered by artificial intelligence can improve the fraud-fighting operations for many merchants. Still, most online retailers employ manual review teams to further review transactions the software flags as risky. But some merchants hoping to increase efficiency are looking to eliminate manual review altogether and have AI make all the fraud decisions.
6 quick tips to manage ecommerce fraud
Ecommerce fraud analysts share tips online retailers can implement to help verify legitimate transactions and block fraudulent ones.
NRF retracts statement on financial impact of organized retail crime
The NRF removed a statement attributing nearly half of shrink to organized retail crime from a report released in April.
Rainbow Apparel says the biggest challenge in ecommerce fraud is allowing legitimate orders through
Rainbow uses Signifyd’s anti-fraud software and AI to detect and flag potential fraud and allow other orders through.
How one furniture retailer combats fraud during online checkout
The outdoor furniture merchant Polywood automated its fraud-detection processes at checkout, resulting in higher conversion rates.
How is Amazon handling fraud?
Amazon is cracking down on counterfeiters, and a legal expert says consumers should be ‘cautiously optimistic’
Ecommerce lawyer Robert Freund says Amazon’s efforts are promising, but it’s nearly impossible to eliminate counterfeits completely.
Amazon accuses former employees of conspiring with fraud ring
Amazon says seven employees committed fraud by processing illegitimate returns, costing the retailer $500,000.
How did fraud affect online sales during the 2023 holiday season?
Higher web sales and lower fraud brighten retailers’ holiday
While online sales increased over the Thanksgiving weekend, fraud attempts were down 20% compared to the same period in 2022, says Signifyd, a provider of fraud prevention services. That’s because there has not been a repeat of a massive fraud attack on U.S. online retailers during the 2022 holiday season, Signifyd says.
Fraud decreases during Cyber 5, ClearSale data shows
At the same time, ClearSale found that from Black Friday to Cyber Monday, order volume decreased 41% year over year. Order amount decreased, too, down 27% year over year.
VF Corp. discloses cyberattack on first day of new SEC rule
Although consumers can purchase available merchandise, VF Corp. is experiencing operational disruptions as a result of the cyberattack.
How Everlane fights ecommerce fraud during the holiday season
Online retailers must adjust their ecommerce fraud defenses to take into account that consumers buy more and more frequently during the holiday season, says TJ Stein of apparel brand Everlane. He says clear communication throughout the purchase process can minimize customer disputes that stem from confusion or the shopper not being able to get questions answered.
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