According to a recent survey by KPMG, 40 percent of online shoppers have not changed their passwords in the past year, despite the increase in cases of data breaches. KPMG via its 2014 holiday shopping survey, which was participated by approximately 1,400 U.S. consumers, discovered that while two-thirds (66 percent) of U.S. consumers will be shopping online this holiday season, the majority of those shoppers (63 percent) are either unsure or not confident in the security of the personal and payment information that they use to complete a transaction.
According to the survey, 47 percent of online shoppers identified that they store some or all of their credit card information on retailer websites for quick and easy access to their accounts, and yet 40 percent of online shoppers stated that they have not changed their password in the past year. Of the consumers that stated that they change their online passwords regularly, 41 percent said that their decision was influenced by recent news of an information security breach at a retail company.
The survey also found that 27 percent of consumers will only shop at a store that previously experienced a cyber-attack if they cannot find the product elsewhere; 8 percent refuse to shop at these stores all together. Twelve percent of consumers who regularly change their passwords do it because they once were victims of identity theft and know the importance of maintaining proper password protection. Of those who do not change their online passwords regularly, 38 percent feel that their passwords are secure enough and 36 percent state that changing their passwords is too much of an inconvenience.
Tony Buffomante, Partner and Retail Cyber Security Leader, KPMG
Passwords are an important line of protection in the fight against identity theft. However, cyber security is a joint venture between the retailer and the consumer. Both parties need to fortify each end of the transaction and not assume that one end is more secure than the other. From the consumer side, that means installing challenging passwords, changing them regularly and monitoring their accounts. For the retailers, they need to implement policies, procedures and controls to mitigate cyber security threats and constantly monitor for potential breaches of customer information.
Mark Larson, KPMG’s U.S. and Global Retail Leader
The holiday shopping season continues to experience a bit of an evolution as more and more consumers turn to online shopping for the ease and convenience of not having to leave their house and fight with a hoard of other shoppers or get to a store and find out the product that they want may not be available. Retailers are looking to adapt to this changing landscape and are therefore continuing to invest in days such as Cyber Monday and Green Monday as another way to increase their annual sales.
