The growing threat represented by chargeback fraud falls almost exclusively on eCommerce merchants. However, the retail market has been upended this year in more ways than one. A few months back, I reported on the fantastic gains online merchants had made since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that growth has powered on the months since. When retail giant …
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I’m a long-time advocate of the transformative power of both education and self-confidence. I believe that if you give people the tools to succeed, and instill the confidence necessary to make use of those tools, there’s no limit to what they can accomplish! This belief guided me to launch Paid for Grades in 2013. Now, with a new program year …
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The COVID-19 crisis forced much of the globe to remain in lockdown over the last several weeks. Businesses have felt the strain of unanticipated layoffs, lost revenue, changes to internal operations, and employees transitioning to remote work. Now, as the country discusses plans to reopen, merchants continue to live through a time of uncertainty. The repercussions of an unstable economy …
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Even in circumstances as dark as those imposed by COVID-19, there are always the optimists who can find silver linings to every dark cloud. For example, some experts are big proponents of the benefits of a cashless society. Just this year, we’ve seen a coin shortage, clerks not wanting to handle potentially virus-carrying bills, the growing acceptance of crypto currency, …
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Particularly in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, eCommerce is booming. Amazon—the largest retailer on the planet—saw their net sales rise 40% in the second quarter of 2020. That’s barely even news, compared to Walmart, which reported a 97% surge in online sales in the same period. And that’s following a nearly 75% increase in Q1. As if that weren’t …
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I spoke to a neighbor recently who mentioned his mother was having trouble paying rent. It’s not that she didn’t have the funds; her issue was literally paying the rent. For years, she’d apparently been using cash to purchase a money order each month, then mailing that to her landlord. This is harder to do these days, with most bank …
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I saw an interesting news item recently: Tesla has surpassed Toyota to become the world’s most valuable auto maker. According to the article, the company’s market cap increased by over 375% over the last year, making Tesla a more valuable global brand than others in the top ten, including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook. Whether or not you’re a fan …
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To be fair, the present is not the most opportune time for merchants in most verticals. For airlines and others in the travel industry, though, the bad news just seems to keep coming. Even before the fallout of the COVID-19 crisis was fully realized, enclosed spaces packed with people became something to avoid. Since that’s basically the definition of an …
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When we talk about ways to prevent chargebacks, we often mention refund and return policies as a primary issue. They may not seem directly connected, but they very much are. If your refund policy is too complicated, too arduous, or too difficult to find on your site, then it may be easier for the customer to shrug and say, “Forget …
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Any business leader worthy of the title knows surviving a crisis depends on having an emergency plan in case of disaster. That said, the COVID-19 pandemic in which we’re currently stuck is an unprecedented situation. I’m looking around today as many business leaders discover their definition of “disaster” wasn’t nearly broad enough. It’s not that these companies had no strategies …
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