E-commerce Brands See Heightened Risk without Digital Trust & Safety

Only 17% of consumers trust brands’ fraud prevention capabilities; new data from Sift sheds light on the challenges of simultaneously improving customer experience and safety, and its overall impact on revenue growth


SAN FRANCISCO, May 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With the ever-growing consumer expectations for instant and excellent experiences, any added friction can impact conversion rates and in turn limit revenue growth. As the leader in Digital Trust & Safety, Sift commissioned a survey and conducted an industry analysis of e-commerce brands to better understand how the growing expectations of consumers impact trust and safety initiatives. The analysis shows that the brands that prioritize trust and safety are experiencing hyper-growth, allowing them to seize new revenue opportunities and increase customer satisfaction, without risk.

“Frictionless experiences are critical to the consumer-brand relationship. Adding unnecessary friction not only jeopardizes that relationship, but also revenue. We’ve seen that brands that prioritize Digital Trust & Safety are some of the fastest growing companies,” said Jason Tan, CEO Sift. “The leaders have the right mindset, technologies, and processes that allow them to balance risk and revenue.”

E-commerce Brands Face Heightened Risk
Polling 2,000 consumers in the United States ages 18 and above, Sift’s survey explores consumers’ experiences, behaviors and perceptions as it relates to fraud with their favorite brands. The findings indicate that increased friction will create a significant challenge for e-commerce brands from retail to travel.

Top findings include:

  • Lack of trust in brand’s fraud prevention abilities. Only 17% of consumers believe brands are very well equipped to protect them from fraud.
  • Trouble with abandonment and loyalty. If consumers encounter a problem on their favorite brand’s site (from account creation to payment), 47% will immediately search for another site from which to purchase. Only 32% will attempt to make a payment once before giving up and most will try no more than 2-3 times.
  • Travel most at risk. Travel ranked the lowest for brand loyalty with 60% of respondents indicating they would switch to a competing brand if they experience payment fraud, compared to electronics, marketplaces and clothing brands.
  • Quick to accept responsibility, but not the blame. 43% of consumers hold themselves responsible for making sure payment is secure, but when fraud occurs, they blame the brand first.  

Opportunity for Hyper-Growth
To confirm that companies who adopt Digital Trust & Safety achieve higher revenues, Sift looked at the year-over-year growth rates of e-commerce leaders. Sift drew on data from Internet Retailer for 1,000 US-based e-commerce companies from $25M to over $500B in annual revenue. To identify the leaders, Sift looked at those with the highest compound annual growth rate of web sales from 2014 to 2018.

Organizations practicing Digital Trust & Safety had some of the highest year-over-year growth rates of all e-commerce companies -- from young, disruptive companies like Harry’s to mature powerhouses like Walmart. The choice to invest in Digital Trust & Safety has allowed these brands to deliver delightful customer experiences, and also expand into new markets, seize new opportunities, and skyrocket into hypergrowth.

“Over the last five years, it has been my privilege to make Turo a safe marketplace for our Hosts and Guests. By providing a safe and secure marketplace, we’re empowering our Hosts to grow and provide a five-star experience to Guests,” said Mike Wilkins, Director of Trust & Safety, Turo. “By adopting a digital trust and safety mindset, we’ve been able to keep our team very lean, very hyper-focused, and capable of managing fraud, even as we scale the company.”

Sift also released today its Digital Trust & Safety Assessment, a tool that helps e-commerce brands understand how quickly they should move to adopt Digital Trust & Safety. For more information and to receive your customized profile, visit www.sift.com/digital-trust-and-safety-now.  

For more information on Digital Trust & Safety, download Sift’s eBook here.

About Sift
Sift, formerly Sift Science, is the leader in Digital Trust & Safety, empowering digital disruptors to Fortune 500 companies to unlock new revenue without risk. Sift dynamically prevents fraud and abuse through industry-leading technology and expertise, an unrivaled global data network of 35 billion events per month, and a commitment to long-term customer partnerships. Global brands such as Twitter, Airbnb and Twilio rely on Sift to gain competitive advantage in their markets. Visit us at sift.com and follow us on Twitter @GetSift.

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Sift DT&S Infographic

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