Retailers face a significant mistrust issue when it comes to data breaches: only 11% of consumers trust retailers to properly handle data breaches, according to a survey by First Data. High-profile events, such as the HBC data breach that affected as many a 5 million shoppers in 2018, can erode trust across the entire industry. But retailers have many tools to help them build up shoppers’ trust. “The media continues to give breach events a public profile, and they pounce when they discover them and disseminate that information pretty broadly,” said EJ Jackson, SVP and GM of Security and Fraud Solutions at First Data in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “I think that’s also a reflection that fraudsters are getting more sophisticated and more successful, and I think retailers aren’t quite keeping pace. They really have to solidify their efforts to protect trust.” The most important step retailers can take to build trust with shoppers is also the most straightforward: protect themselves from data breaches before they can happen. While this is a complex process with no single solution, adhering to best practices can help retailers rise to the challenge: Ensure anti-fraud efforts are properly funded. The first step in…

Nearly half (49%) of consumers have reported being a victim of credit card fraud where their card information was illegally used by someone else, according to a survey from Riskified. Among these victims, 49% abandon the retailer entirely after learning of the fraud, with 29% blaming the merchant that approved the fraudulent purchase. Retailers also can lose customers when they adopt strict anti-fraud measures. Merchants often decline orders out of caution, which means they sometimes reject good, honest customers. Up to 30% of shoppers say they have had their purchase wrongly declined, and 57% of those declines happen to returning customers, with a corresponding negative impact on their satisfaction and return shopping. These false declines end up robbing retailers of as much as 5.5% of their annual revenue.

Global retail shrink led to losses of $99.56 billion in calendar 2017, according to the Sensormatic Global Shrink Index compiled by Tyco Retail Solutions and PlanetRetail RNG. U.S. shrink generated losses of $42.49 billion, accounting for 1.85% of retail sales, slightly above the global average of 1.82%. The National Retail Federation and the University of Florida also analyzed U.S. shrink trends by interviewing 63 loss prevention and asset protection professionals from a variety of retail sectors. This study found that shrink averaged 1.33% of sales in 2017, down from 1.44% the year before. A total of 59% of those surveyed said that shrink was flat or decreasing, up from 51% in 2016. In comparison, 41% of respondents claimed shrink was growing, down from 49%. The Sensormatic report surveyed 1,120 professionals from retailers in 14 countries that collectively operate more than 229,000 stores. Shrink rates in the U.S. varied by retail sector, with the highest level, 2.43%, experienced by fashion and accessories stores. Other U.S. retail segments with high levels of shrink included: Convenience Stores: 2.05%; Home, Garden and Auto Stores: 2.05%; Drug Stores, Pharmacies and Perfumeries: 2.03%; and Variety Stores: 1.95%. “Fashion merchandise is always in high demand and items…