Despite a roller-coaster run on Wall Street, the back-and-forth with China on tariffs, and even a late Thanksgiving, overall spending this holiday season is expected to reach new milestones. In fact, forecasters are suggesting this may be the first time the US crosses the $1 trillion mark for the season. Even the most conservative predictions call for a 3-4% (YoY) …
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It sometimes seems like the state of our economy at any given time totally depends on who you talk to. One source will cite slow upticks in consumer confidence, another will talk about the elusive coming recession, almost as if trying to will it into existence. Politically motivated speakers will boast about thriving markets when trying to get reelected…or spout …
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Here’s a scenario: a man—let’s call him Ted—has been researching high-end driving irons for months. He knows what he wants, and he finally finds one at an online sporting goods store for just under $250. He even pays extra for two-day delivery. By the weekend he’s holding it in his hands, taking practice swings on his patio, and feeling a …
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One thing I am often asked is how merchants can tell if they actually have a chargeback problem. On the surface, the answer seems obvious: if you have chargebacks, you have a chargeback problem, right? But maybe it’s not obvious: the question almost always comes from someone running a smaller business, and the individual typically has a limited familiarity with …
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I fight fraud for a living. So, trust me when I say, there is no way to be absolutely, 100% secure from fraud. It simply can’t happen. Even if we were somehow able to eliminate 99.99% of the fraudsters on the planet, there would still be a few of them out there we didn’t catch … and it only takes …
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As an IT executive and entrepreneur, I am consistently pushing academic leaders to focus on improving outcomes for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) programs. I believe this is important, not just on a gender-equality level, but also because it’s better for society as a whole: having all the research and input from such important areas largely limited …
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How many of the questions you ask aloud every day start with the words “Alexa…” or “Hey, Google”? More and more, people are giving up the standard query box for the convenience of voice search. As the technology powering these systems advances, I’m certain we’ll see even more users turning to Siri or Alexa to track down the information they …
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One of the messages I am constantly emphasizing is how essential it has become for eCommerce merchants to offer fast, responsive customer service. If there is any way a merchant can provide live 24/7 support, that is always the way to go. But I recognize that doing so is not always economically feasible. Some companies see chatbots–those little pop-ups that …
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There’s been a lot of talk over the last year—and even more over the last few weeks—about the roller coaster ride and alleged eminent crash of Bitcoin. Sometimes it feels like all the news is negative, and the naysayers simply can’t wait for the currency to flatline. Part of that, of course, is the nature of the reporting business. All …
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Data is Digital Gold. That Makes it a Top Priority for Fraudsters. What are fraudsters looking for in the digital age? Is it Cash? Card numbers? Maybe, but more often than not, data is the real treasure fraudsters are hunting for, as I explained in a new feature in Internet Retailer magazine. Thanks to author April Berthene (@AprilBertheneIR) for inviting …
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