• ESET Global Survey Shows Growing Trend in E-Commerce Will Remain After the Pandemic
One of the many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it has significantly limited our access to physical store spaces. It comes as no surprise, then, that new research from ESET shows a significant increase in the popularity of online shopping during quarantines.
The ESET survey explored consumer opinions about online shopping, as well as banking and financial services, showing that 61% of consumers worldwide shop online more often than before the pandemic. This increase in the popularity of e-commerce is particularly pronounced among younger age groups, with 70% of consumers aged 25–34 reporting that they now shop online more often.
As the physical spaces of the stores remain closed, these findings are not particularly shocking. On the contrary, what is surprising is that ESET research shows that the growing trend in e-commerce will continue after the pandemic.
Of the 10.000 consumers surveyed in the UK, US, Australia, Japan and Brazil, 40% believe they will continue to shop online after the pandemic is over. This shows a fundamental change in the way we shop and it's clear that the impact of the pandemic on our shopping habits is probably here to stay.
But as e-markets continue to grow, consumers must remain protected from the risks posed by e-commerce.
What many are not aware of is that, extremely often, cybercriminals use well-known brands for phishing. That is, they take advantage of the trust that consumers have in these brands, to convince them to click on some malicious link and provide – without their knowledge – personal information, such as name username, password and their bank card details.
On the other hand, commercial companies themselves often experience data and cyber breachesattacks. And whenever this happens, there is a high chance that cybercriminals can gain access to the personal data of consumer-customers, leaving consumers exposed to threats of extortion and phishing attacks.
Asked if they could spot a phishing email mimicking the emails they receive from the online stores where they shop, more than two-thirds of consumers surveyed by ESET said they could. But, given the huge increase in cyber-attacks we have seen due to the pandemic, and with Google recording 2 millions Fishing websites in 2020, it is extremely likely that many consumers will underestimate the extent of this threat.
Only 29% of consumers surveyed worldwide said they felt "very safe" when shopping online, while 16% said they felt either "not very safe" or "not at all safe".
And although progress has been made in the area of electronic payments, the results of the ESET survey show that much remains to be done to improve consumer confidence.
Protecting consumers and their data from cybercriminals and other malicious agents is vital and is the mission of international cybersecurity company ESET to take care of this, using state-of-the-art security software technology. More information on how ESET can protect users while browsing the web can be found at company website.
