Interest in e-commerce has skyrocketed and will continue to point to the future of shopping with many individuals making purchases from the comfort and safety of their homes. In fact, US e-commerce sales are up by 49%.
Consumers rely on quality experience, products, and services when interacting with a site. The foundation of success in the digital world is having the proper cybersecurity measures in place to protect consumers, employees, and the business itself from constant security threats.
Cybersecurity is woven into the very fabric of business operations and has special impacts on the e-commerce sector.
Reduces Customer Churn
Customer retention is the ultimate end goal for any brand, and it takes a special approach to secure repeat loyal customers that not just make a single purchase, but return again and again to buy products. A loyal customer is invested in a brand, just as the company must be fully invested in the consumer.
Creating a foundation of trust with consumers is essential to reducing churn. Foster trust by being transparent with data collection. It is essential to take the necessary steps and communicate protocols. Clearly document the actions your company is taking to protect consumers.
Making data privacy a priority will help to secure trust and convert customers into brand advocates. E-commerce brands can go a step further by developing customer feedback surveys to gauge sentiment about data privacy and tweak policies to better serve needs.
Protects Corporate Assets
Managing a successful e-commerce business relies on a driven, skilled, and responsible workforce. It takes a large team with individuals from diverse backgrounds and talents to assist customers and guarantee business continuity.
In order to maintain efficiency and best perform tasks, employees will need a certain level of access to data. From support tickets, customer demographics, financials, and internal documents, the right individuals need to be able to view such information while restricting others who should not.
Solutions such as identity access management (IAM) can help to mitigate the risks associated with data misuse. IAM helps to verify user credentials when accessing corporate databases to ensure appropriate use of resources. This technology is especially helpful when teams are distributed and access attempts may steam from multiple locations.
Improves User Experience
UX design and navigation can greatly sway a consumer’s impression and how they view a brand. Customers are attracted to stylish and user friendly sites that make it convenient to browse and find products. A poorly designed and confusing layout can cause a customer to leave your site and never return.
Consumers may hesitate to interact with an e-commerce site and make purchases if they are uncomfortable with unclear data collection notifications. Customers are constantly bombarded with requests to accept cookies, complicated data disclosure forms, and user agreements alone. Such policies can turn off consumers from going forward on your site.
Make sure that such forms are presented clearly and don’t intimidate users. Great UX design can help to improve user safety and the relationship between the two are a must for creating the best experience possible.
Boosts Employee Competence
Cybersecurity training and emphasizing the importance of being vigilant to recognize threats is critical to the infrastructure of any e-commerce venture. Employees should be provided opportunities for continuing education and be regularly briefed on best security practices. Employees can act as the front line to prevent hackers and viruses from entering into the enterprise.
Cyber criminals deploy common tactics such as phishing scams to a list of corporate emails. These messages can at first appear to be legitimate by addressing employees by name and using relevant subject lines to entice individuals to open them. Once opened, these emails contain downloadable attachments that contain viruses that can compromise user data and be quite destructive.
However, there are some recognizable signs that employees can look out for and be aware of. It is critical that they are up to date on the latest preventive steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of breaches though such scams.
Optimizes Business Processes
Software updates are constantly being rolled out for systems that are needed to complete tasks. Updates contain vital security improvements that not only better safeguard assets but can clear out bugs that can speed up processes that are needed to take care of vital tasks. Updates can pile up, so it is essential to stay on top of these notifications and take care of them immediately. Weave security into e-commerce optimization to keep everything running smoothly.
E-commerce Security is Paramount
The importance of cybersecurity can not be emphasized enough. Many brands are often wondering what steps can be taken to improve practices, customer satisfaction, and ultimately increase revenue streams.
Security should not be overlooked because it often provides the solution to the challenges many e-commerce brands are facing. Interestingly, having the right security plan in place can help to drive improvements in many of these areas. Security has wide reaching effects that can truly help lead to positive changes in your e-commerce venture.
Keep your brand protected by evaluating your existing infrastructure and consider the latest best practices in cybersecurity.
