Consumers Concerned About Fraud, Want Safe Shopping Features: Report

Some 54% of consumers are concerned about fraud this holiday season, up 17% from a year ago, said a Thursday TransUnion report. Higher fears about fraud and the desire for security were top themes in an online survey of 3,000 adults fielded Aug. 11-18, said the credit reporting company. The highest rated feature for shopping on a mobile device was two-factor authentication, with 80% of consumers saying the security feature was moderately or very important. The survey found “consumers increasingly expect online retailers to deliver safe and seamless shopping experiences as they have less patience for errors and inconvenience,” said Cecilia Seiden, TransUnion vice president-retail. Respondents indicated they would abandon their virtual shopping carts if retailers didn’t meet expectations, Seiden said. Fraud concerns topped the list of top reasons consumers would abandon an online cart at 72%, followed by not enough security on the website (40%), shipping costs (26%), a poor website experience (17%) and payment issues (11%). The minimum discount that makes a deal "great" this year is 30%, said the report, and “quick delivery” was defined as two days. Some 26% of shoppers plan to spend more this year, led by millennials and Generation Z customers (44%). While some consumers may end up spending more on their holiday shopping due to inflation, “there’s good evidence that consumer optimism is intact,” said Mark Rose, TransUnion senior director-retail, citing higher incomes and a continued strong job market.