Back-to-school season spurs increase in global ecommerce transactions, ACI Worldwide reveals

According to the press release, the analysis of hundreds of millions of ecommerce transactions from global merchants showed that sales of back-to-school items, which increased 56% from January through August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, were among the main drivers, along with sporting, outdoor, pet supplies and DIY goods.

Moreover, the gaming sector continued to see significant growth in August (109%) compared to July (52%), driven by new game releases as well as stay-at-home restrictions that are forcing consumers to find indoor entertainment. Pet supplies also saw increased demand (94%) from January through August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. 

Some key findings regarding ecommerce purchasing trends include:

• Sectors that continue to experience major decrease in purchases in August 2020 include travel (13% decrease) and ticketing (80% decrease).

• The average ticket price of genuine purchases dropped by USD 26 in 2020 compared to 2019.

• US up 11%, driven by back-to-school items such as clothing, stationery and electronics.

• EMEA up 13%, driven by purchases of back-to-school and DIY items.

Regarding fraud trends, some of the key takeaways include the following:

• Transactional value of fraud attempts increased 0.4% in August 2020, driven by purchases of electronics, with buy online, pick-up in-store being the channel of choice for fraudsters.

• The average ticket price for fraud attempts increased by USD 7 in the period January through August 2020, compared to the same period in 2019.

• Non-fraud chargebacks increased by 17% in August 2020 compared to August 2019.