INDUSTRY WATCH
RETAILERS WHO CAN
ADOPT ADVANCED
CYBERSECURITY
MEASURES COULD
DRIVE A 5.4% UPLIFT IN
ANNUAL REVENUE.
C
ybersecurity is a new source of
competitive advantage for retailers.
That’s according to a report by
Capgemini's Digital Transformation
Institute, which has called for more
organisations to align cybersecurity
policies with customer expectations to
take advantage of this opportunity.
The report, Cybersecurity: The New
Source of Competitive Advantage for
Retailers demonstrates that consumers
are increasingly aware of security
breaches in retail and are willing to spend
more with retailers who demonstrate
robust cybersecurity capabilities. Based
on average annual consumer spending,
this equates to a potential annual
revenue uplift of 5.4%.
The new report, which surveyed more
than 6,000 consumers and 200 retail
executives, found that 77% of consumers
ranked cybersecurity as the third most
important factor when selecting retailers,
behind product availability and quality
and above traditional factors including
pricing and brand reputation.
Strong cybersecurity measures increase
customer satisfaction by 13% while 40%
of consumers would be willing to increase
their online spend by at least 20%
more with retailers they trust. The report
revealed that retailers who can adopt
advanced cybersecurity measures could
drive a 5.4% uplift in annual revenue.
However, the report identified a
disconnect between the assurances
consumers want and what retailers are
doing. A total of 70% of consumers want
www.intelligentcio.com
to be assured that their financial and
personal information is safe yet only 44%
of retailers are actively informing them.
Retailers are also not adequately
informing their customers of data
breaches. A total of 40% of retailers said
they experienced a data breach over the
past three years (2015 to 2017 inclusive)
and had customer financial or personal
data compromised, yet only 21% of
consumers say that they heard their
primary retailer's name mentioned with a
data breach.
"Cybersecurity represents a lucrative
opportunity for retailers to improve
customer satisfaction and drive higher
online spending," said Tim Bridges, Global
Sector Lead, Consumer Products, Retail
and Distribution at Capgemini. "
What do other industry
experts say?
Hans Nipshagen, Regional Sales
Leader Web and Security Middle
East, Africa and Eastern Europe,
Akamai Technologies
With the increased frequency and
visibility of data breaches, the impact of
an attack for any online business is much
more than the loss of revenue through
site downtime or even the fines from lost
customer data – it’s really all about the
long-term impact to their brand. In the
online world of today trust is the new
currency for businesses.
Especially in retail, security can’t be
ignored – it is among the most attacked
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