Web.com Study Reveals Online Security Concerns Are Driving Consumers to Shop Small Businesses This Holiday Season

Sixty-Nine Percent of Consumers Are Worried About Security, Privacy and Fraud When Shopping Online This Holiday Season


JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Significant consumer concerns about online security and privacy could impact shopping behaviors this holiday season, according to results from the second small business perception survey by Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:WWWW), a leading provider of Internet services and online marketing solutions for small businesses.

The national survey found that 25 percent of respondents would be likely to change their online shopping behavior and 32 percent would seriously consider changing their online shopping behavior compared to last year. The survey of 3,039 consumers comes after several high-profile security breaches at major national retailers since the 2013 holiday season, affecting tens of millions of shoppers.**

The survey also found that consumers are more than twice as concerned about online security at large retailers (27 percent concerned) than small business retailers (12 percent concerned). Because of security worries, 65% of consumers are influenced to shop more on small business websites this holiday season.

The holiday shopping season is just around the corner and new reports of retail and banking industry security breaches continue to surface. At the same time, more consumers are not only shopping online but are doing so via mobile devices. As such, there is a critical need for business owners to increase their investments in the security technologies and services needed to protect customers from potential security and privacy threats.

"Small businesses have an opportunity to think even more strategically about their online and digital presence through the lens of what value they can bring their customers—whether in the form of money, efficiency or security," said David Brown, chairman and CEO of Web.com. "In order to gain consumer confidence, small business owners have become more thoughtful and serious about managing their online presence and making the necessary security measures to keep their customers' data safe."

For information on the survey methodology, access to the survey results and related insights and to view an infographic that illustrates consumer attitudes toward security and privacy, click here (infographic) and here (survey insights).

*Online survey fielded by Toluna Research from September 19-26, 2014, with a ±1.5% to 2.0% margin of error at 95% confidence at the 3,039 "all respondent level" and a ±3.5% to 4.4% margin of error at 95% confidence for the 1,003 small business decision-makers.

** Target and Neiman Marcus Shopping Risks

About Web.com

Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:WWWW) provides a full range of Internet services to small businesses to help them compete and succeed online. Web.com meets the needs of small businesses anywhere along their lifecycle with affordable, subscription-based solutions including domains, hosting, website design and management, search engine optimization, online marketing campaigns, local sales leads, social media, mobile products and eCommerce solutions. For more information, please visit www.web.com; follow Web.com on Twitter @webdotcom or on Facebook at facebook.com/web.com.

Note to Editors: Web.com is a registered trademark of Web.com Group, Inc.



            

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