• 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 severely limited our access to physical store space. Unsurprisingly, new ESET research shows a significant increase in the popularity of e-shopping during quarantine.
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 confidence που έχουν οι καταναλωτών σε αυτές τις μάρκες, για να τους πείσουν να κάνουν κλικ σε κάποιο κακόβουλο link και να δώσουν – εν αγνοία τους – προσωπικές πληροφορίες, όπως όνομα χρήστη, κωδικό πρόσβασης και data of their bank card.
On the other hand, commercial companies themselves often suffer from data breaches and cyber attacks. And whenever this happens, there is a good chance that cybercriminals will gain access to the personal data of consumer consumers and thus find 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 pandemic attacks we have seen due to the pandemic, and with Google recording 2 million e-fishing sites by 2020, it is highly 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 despite the fact that progress has been made in the field of electronics payments, the results of ESET's research show that there is still a lot to be done to improve consumer confidence.
Protecting consumers and their data from cybercriminals and other malicious actors is of vital importance and it is the mission of the international cyber security company ESET to ensure this by using technology state-of-the-art security software. More information on how ESET can protect users while browsing the web can be found at company website.
