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 Merchants may be losing out on potential ecommerce sales due to 
 shoppers' concerns over the security of their information in the digital 
 world, according to a survey released today by American Express 
 AXP. The 2017 American Express Digital Payments Survey shows that 
 consumers are increasingly relying on online and mobile technology to 
 make purchases, opening new opportunities for merchants to reach more 
 customers and grow revenue. Among U.S. merchants that have both 
 ecommerce and physical retail operations, 81% view online and mobile 
 sales as the channel with the biggest growth opportunity for their 
 business, according to the survey. To effectively capture that potential 
 growth, the results show that merchants should prioritize the security 
 of their interactions with customers online as much as the checkout 
 experience, as many consumers say they have abandoned making an online 
 purchase over security concerns.
 
 
 The survey findings are based on responses from 1,020 U.S. consumers1 
 and 401 U.S. merchants2 and reflect online shopping habits on 
 desktop computers and mobile devices. The results show that merchants 
 and consumers are increasingly conducting commerce through digital 
 channels. Nine-in-ten (90%) U.S. consumers say they have made at least 
 one online purchase in the past 12 months, and more than seven-in-ten 
 (73%) have made three or more online purchases in the same time frame. 
 Nearly half of online shoppers (47%) say they have increased the 
 frequency of their online purchases in the last year. At the same time, 
 71% of merchants say the proportion of their annual sales generated 
 through online and mobile channels has increased over the previous year.
 
 
 As consumers shift more of their spending to digital channels, they're 
 also showing a strong propensity for using digital payment options. More 
 than 70% of online shoppers say they have used digital-payment services, 
 including mobile wallets, one-click checkout buttons and P2P payment 
 apps. And four-in-ten (41%) say they always or sometimes use such 
 digital solutions when they pay. Internet-connected, voice-activated 
 devices, are also poised to further shape consumer purchasing behavior: 
 18% of consumers surveyed say they are very likely or somewhat likely to 
 use voice-activated services to make a purchase in the future. With 
 industry estimates predicting a surge in Internet-connected devices in 
 the coming years, the number of consumers who may ultimately use such 
 gadgets to make a purchase is likely to grow in the future.
 
 
 Security Concerns Put Purchases on Pause
 
 
 While consumers are doing more of their shopping online, they also place 
 a high priority on payment security. Of consumers who have made three or 
 more online purchases in the last year, nearly four-in-ten (37%) say 
 they have abandoned an online purchase because they did not feel their 
 payment would be secure. At the same time, 73% of merchants say their 
 level of fraudulent online sales has increased or remained the same over 
 the past year. This suggests that while consumers are increasingly 
 shopping online, merchants have an opportunity to capture a larger share 
 of their customers' online spending by taking steps to reduce fraud and 
 enhance security in their digital channels.
 
 
 "Digital innovation is enabling consumers to buy from merchants when and 
 where it's most convenient for them," says Mike Matan, Vice President, 
 Industry Engagement, Product and Marketing, Global Network Business, 
 American Express. "But the results of our survey show that for merchants 
 to capitalize on consumers' continued shift to online and mobile 
 commerce, they need to provide their customers with the confidence that 
 their information is secure."
 
 
 Security Investments and Incentives Can Boost Sales Growth
 
 
 The survey found that investments in online security yield tangible 
 benefits. Among the 71% of merchants that have experienced an increase 
 in online and mobile sales over the last year, more than half (58%) say 
 that enhanced security features have had a very significant impact on 
 their sales. Other factors that have had a very significant impact on 
 their sales include an improved checkout process (54%), the availability 
 of free delivery (55%), marketing offers and discounts exclusively for 
 online customers (53%), and a general consumer shift toward online 
 shopping (54%).
 
 
 The good news is many merchants are prioritizing security investments. 
 In the past year, merchants spent 31% of their IT budgets on payment 
 security, according to the survey. In addition, more than half of 
 merchants (54%) report that their budget for payment security will 
 increase over the next year.
 
 
 But there are key steps that more merchants can take to boost security 
 in digital channels:
 
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 A little more than half (53%) of merchants take the simple step of 
 requiring customers to enter the CVV code found on credit cards for 
 online purchases.
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 An even smaller percentage of merchants say they offer technology to 
 confirm customers are not robots (42%) or utilize data encryption for 
 their online channels (40%).
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 Just four-in-ten (39%) merchants decline transactions when a verified 
 billing address has not been provided.
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 Only 38% of merchants require customers to set up an account before 
 making a purchase online.
 </li>
 </ul>
 
 In addition to having peace of mind about the security of their payment 
 information, consumers are also drawn to digital channels for other 
 reasons. Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) consumers who say they would be more 
 likely to purchase an item in-store rather than online say an offer for 
 free delivery would cause them to reconsider and purchase the item 
 online instead. Similarly, 75% of consumers say discounts available only 
 for online purchases would prompt them to purchase online instead of 
 in-store, while 50% say the ability to earn exclusive rewards for online 
 purchases would prompt them to do the same.
 
 
 Consumers and Merchants Agree: Cash Is No Longer King
 
 
 As online commerce grows and consumers continue adopting digital 
 payments, more merchants and consumers are also turning away from cash. 
 One-in-five (20%) consumers say they currently are not carrying any cash 
 in their wallet, and nearly half (46%) say they rarely or never use cash 
 for making purchases. This has not gone unnoticed by merchants: among 
 those that currently offer cash/check payment options to their 
 customers, two-thirds say they are very (36%) or somewhat (31%) likely 
 to go completely cashless.
 
 
 Survey Methodology
 
 
 The 2017 American Express Digital Payments Survey was conducted among 
 U.S. consumers and merchants that offer online/mobile payment options to 
 their customers.
 
 
 The consumer portion of the study is based on an overall sample of 1,020 
 respondents weighted to U.S. census based upon gender, age, education, 
 race and region. Unless otherwise noted, responses among consumers 
 represent those who have made an online purchase three or more times in 
 the past 12 months based on self-report. The sample size of n=775 has a 
 margin of error of +/- 3.5 at the 95% confidence level. The anonymous 
 survey was conducted online May 8-10, 2017.
 
 
 The merchant portion of the survey was conducted online among a sample 
 of 401 business leaders in the U.S. who have responsibility for making 
 decisions regarding customer payment options, IT/data security, or 
 online sales strategy and planning. Respondent companies must offer 
 credit/debit card or digital payment options to their customers through 
 online/mobile channels. The sample for the study came from an online 
 panel. The business sample has a margin of error of +/- 4.9 at the 95% 
 confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted May 16-23, 2017.
 
 
 About American Express
 
 
 American Express is a global services company, providing customers with 
 access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build 
 business success. Learn more at <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanexpress.com&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=americanexpress.com&amp;index=1&amp;md5=3d1129ddac8fe39c4c461a0ae387165f" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">americanexpress.com</a> 
 and connect with us on <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=facebook.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;index=2&amp;md5=f56506b5887a0d4dc3a586f66f977564" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">facebook.com/americanexpress</a>, 
 <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Famericanexpress%2F&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=instagram.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;index=3&amp;md5=4d23bdd28186fa04a94858d5f9929ce6" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">instagram.com/americanexpress</a>, 
 <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Famerican-express&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Famerican-express&amp;index=4&amp;md5=103fbe23a4e434e8fb1a486074e62371" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">linkedin.com/company/american-express</a>, 
 <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=twitter.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;index=5&amp;md5=6a5f118361de0419c3ed44b5bf9adaef" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">twitter.com/americanexpress</a>, 
 and <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=youtube.com%2Famericanexpress&amp;index=6&amp;md5=fb2961d54595ee2df4a7f4155fdd57df" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">youtube.com/americanexpress</a>.
 
 
 Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility 
 information: <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww304.americanexpress.com%2Fcredit-card%3Fextlink%3Ddw-us-pr-bp&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=charge+and+credit+cards&amp;index=7&amp;md5=be5b58e3bdd6a230816f78a11c718550" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">charge 
 and credit cards</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanexpress.com%2Fus%2Fsmall-business%2Fcredit-cards%2F&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=business+credit+cards&amp;index=8&amp;md5=b1ba1093d9ffd2d51242fc4ba2af9456" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">business 
 credit cards</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plenti.com%2F&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Plenti+rewards+program&amp;index=9&amp;md5=76a2b3e79b8412b94f9cd819869d70a3" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Plenti 
 rewards program</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftravel.americanexpress.com%2Fhome%3Fextlink%3Ddw-us-pr-bp&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=travel+services&amp;index=10&amp;md5=629a5ec31a3edbb770bdabfce633080e" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">travel 
 services</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanexpress.com%2Fgift-cards%2F%3Fextlink%3Ddw-us-pr-bp&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=gift+cards&amp;index=11&amp;md5=7e91214ab0bade17602a961722c533a1" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">gift 
 cards</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.americanexpress.com%2Fus%2Fcontent%2Fprepaid%2Freloadable-cards.html&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=prepaid+cards&amp;index=12&amp;md5=8caa953878b4a9af7f23c553d296f08b" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">prepaid 
 cards</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww209.americanexpress.com%2Fmerchant%2Fmarketing-data%2Fpages%2Fhome%3Fextlink%3Ddw-us-pr-bp&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=merchant+services&amp;index=13&amp;md5=6c4f85447b0ced94c66403ba779a4b5f" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">merchant 
 services</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.accertify.com%2F&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=Accertify&amp;index=14&amp;md5=a374377f44cc6e3f8582ec43099556cf" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Accertify</a>, 
 <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fbusiness.americanexpress.com%2Fus%3Fextlink%3Ddw-us-pr-bp&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=corporate+card&amp;index=15&amp;md5=e00885290d2a14249c3096a8cf9d88dd" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">corporate 
 card</a>, <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fbusinesstravel.americanexpress.com%2F%3Fextlink%3Ddw-us-pr-bp&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=business+travel&amp;index=16&amp;md5=4ed78e5707a9c6810886d6585f31535a" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">business 
 travel</a>, and <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fabout.americanexpress.com%2Fcsr%2F%3Finav%3Dabout_CorpResponsibility&amp;esheet=51577521&amp;newsitemid=20170620005928&amp;lan=en-US&amp;anchor=corporate+responsibility&amp;index=17&amp;md5=e3b19e382203d38389b55beb58df1fdb" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">corporate 
 responsibility</a>.
 
 
 ____________________________________
 
 
 1 Consumers refer to those who have shopped online three or 
 more times in the past year. 2 Merchants refer to those 
 businesses that accept payments on a traditional website, mobile website 
 or mobile application.
 
 
 
 <img xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" alt="" src="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&amp;sty=20170620005928r1&amp;sid=benz2&amp;distro=nx&amp;lang=en"></img>View source version on businesswire.com: <a xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170620005928/en/" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170620005928/en/</a></body></html>

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