E-Commerce and Mobile Payments Expected to Grow in 2012

The European Union recently released a plan that encourages consumers to make purchases via the internet, as the goal is to increase online retail sales from 3.4% to 6.8% by 2015.

One of the barriers cited by the EU that prevents the proliferation of e-commerce is the limited protection available for internet users. In a Financial Times article detailing the recent Zappos.com breach, Cathy Halligan, a former chief marketing officer at Walmart.com, said that people who do not shop online cite security worries as the main reason. The interesting point that Halligan brings up is that while online shoppers are worried about security, they will ultimately buy the products if they really want them, regardless of security.

Mobile payments and e-commerce will continue to grow over time and this industry presents somewhat of a greenfield to cybercriminals, so merchants must take steps to better protect their customers’ data. This will be increasingly important as mobile payment devices become common in brick-and-mortar stores – as is the case with cosmetics company Sephora, which has deployed dozens of iPads as mobile point-of-sale devices in several of its stores and in several new stores, they are relying solely on mobile devices for their points of payment.

It is essential for merchants to monitor the Navigation Layer of websites for any malicious activity. The Navigation Layer is where customers interact with the Web, and behavioral analysis has been proven to be the most effective way to detect and mitigate abnormal activity both at the user and population level. The more we can work to protect e-commerce, mobile platforms, and third party integrated websites, the more confident consumers can be when shopping online or paying via mobile devices in-store. Customers need to have peace-of-mind when making their purchases, and it’s up to the merchants to ensure that their information is safeguarded to the absolute best of their ability.