The Importance of Online Security to E-Commerce Merchants

These days, it seems that almost every business with a brick and mortar presence also has an e-commerce one. As 79% of Americans are now turning to the internet to buy their goods, including everything from groceries to clothing and everything in between, it’s smart business sense to diversify their buying options and allow them that digital interface.

Yet, when retailers make the transition to an online platform, they also open themselves up to a greater threat of fraud and data compromise. While the opportunity is rich for profit and the consumer pool is there, smart retailers moving forward will be those that make security a year-round priority rather than ramping it up at peak selling times, such as during the holidays. To that end, let’s discuss a few ways to get started.

1. Start by understanding your business.

Before you can strengthen your data security practices, it’s important to self-evaluate and understand exactly where your business has been, where it currently is, and where you’d like it to head. Often, retailers are so laser-focused on keeping pace amid tightening competition that they advertise their offerings on myriad platforms and across multiple social media channels. Over time, it can be difficult to keep up with exactly where your business name and information has been and how many networks it’s touched.

Start by making a comprehensive list of every channel you currently sell through, including offline venues such as your brick-and-mortar location or any pop-up shops. At those locations, you should have safety measures in place such as anti-theft security cameras and inventory security tags (read more about those). Then, take a look at how you’re handling security and data protection at each location. Also consider the risks that each channel offers and how you’re taking steps to mitigate them.

2. Research your foundational technology.

It’s also important to understand the technology that drives your business channels. While you don’t have to be an IT expert or a professional coder, you should know as much as possible about any online venture you’re undertaking. For instance, you should know the ins and outs of your existing software platform. Is it self-hosted or managed via a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution by a third-party vendor?

If you’re self-hosting, it’s up to you and your in-house teams to make sure you stay up-to-date on every new software version release, security patch, upgrade and more. How are you accepting payment and ensuring that personal data, such as credit card numbers, are properly encrypted? If you’re working with an SaaS partner, they’ll usually help take care of that legwork for you, but be sure that’s in your terms.

Then, look at how you’re storing, maintaining and updating your customer data. If you have a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that stores all your client information on a central platform, you’re ahead of the game. If not, you need to understand what you’re using instead. Especially when it comes to your e-commerce platform, it’s vital that business leaders know how their sensitive and confidential customer data is being managed and that only those with authorized access are handling it. As a general rule of thumb, the fewer hands it passes through, the better.

3. Invest at scale.

There are many tools you can install to help you get a stronger hold on your e-commerce security measures. From apps that monitor each transaction for signs of fraud (an excessive amount of high-value items, an irregular shopping frequency, etc.) to an entire, dedicated account team whose main focus is keeping your platform safe, the sky’s almost the limit when it comes to how much you can invest and how far you can take this initiative.

Or, you can always fall back on the more traditional methods of security monitoring that are often more cost-effective. For instance, start by making sure your entire site is encrypted via HTTPS, keeping credit card data secure. Then, switch from more vulnerable software products, like Adobe, to more secure ones like HTML5. You should also be keeping up with compliance measures issued by the Payment Card Industry (PCI) to make sure you’re meeting or exceeding all of them.

Ultimately, keeping your e-commerce site secure is critical to achieving repeat business, maintaining customer loyalty, and building a solid brand reputation. At the end of the day, you should be keeping every page of your website as secure as you keep your brick-and-mortar store, if not more so. The opportunity is ripe on these platforms, but so is the risk and achieving success lies in balancing both.