An ACI Worldwide analysis has revealed that transaction volumes in most retail sectors have seen a 74% rise in March compared to the same period last year, while online gaming has seen an increase of 97%.

However, fraud is on the increase too, the research shows, as fraudsters are using the surge in online activity to target unsuspecting consumers and merchants. Merchants are starting to experience dramatic increases in COVID-19-related phishing activities, with stolen credentials released into the ecommerce payments chain, as well as increased friendly fraud activities.

Key Findings:

• online retailer sectors with rising transaction volumes in March 2020 compared to the previous year include: home products and furnishings: +97%, DIY products: +136%, garden essentials: +163%, electronics: +26.6%, telco: +18.6%;
• online retail sectors with declining transaction volumes in the same period: ticketing: -60%, travel: -44%, Online dating: -8.9%;
• average fraudulent attempted purchase value increased by USD 36 in March, driven by electronic and retail goods; this corresponds to a fraudulent attempted transactional value increase by 13%;
• fraudulent attempted transactional volume decreased by 8%, driven by increase of fraudulent attempt purchase value.

Debbie Guerra, executive vice president at ACI , says that on the long run, the shift in consumer behaviour opting for online purchases is likely to outlast the crisis. The industry is well ahead of the curve in adapting payment methods and ways to combat fraud in response to the changing behaviours and expectations of consumers, which are now being expedited by the lockdown.