global payments news

We’ve got our popular Friday fast roundup of the global payments news you should know about. There’s a report on mobile shopping and mobile payments,  Cyber Monday sales records, Jet.com’s sales slide, Marriott’s 500 million accounts data breach, a coffee cup with contactless payments, and much more.

Report: Mobile Shopping, Yes. Mobile Payments? No.

mobile paymentsAs Americans wade deeper into the holiday season, new evidence from GfK shows that no matter where they go, they’re watching their smartphones, with 45% viewing their devices as essential shopping tools. In 2017, just 29% felt that way. Still, consumers aren’t in a hurry to embrace mobile payments, says Joe Beier, GfK’s executive vice president of consumer insight. Read more…

Cyber Monday sales set new record of $7.9 billion

Cyber Monday $7.9 billion sales recordAccording to Adobe Analytics, Cyber Monday sales grew 19.3% from last year. Black Friday recorded a record $6.2 billion in sales and Thanksgiving Day sales reached $3.7 billion. Amazon reported record sales on the holiday weekend and reported Cyber Monday was its largest sales day ever. While the company does not release detailed results, it said consumers bought more than 18 million toys and 13 million fashion items on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Read more…

Jet.com’s Cyber Monday revenue plummeted 39%

Jet.com has done a total rebrandKohl’s, Nordstrom, Walmart and Macy’s were the big online sales winners on Cyber Monday among 10 major retailers, all posting revenue jumps compared to Cyber Monday in 2017. Walmart’s Jet.com and Sears, however, both saw online revenue decline compared with last year, according to an Edison Trends report. Read more…

Wayfair, Benefit and more tout their Cyber 5 e‑commerce sales gains

2018 e-commerce holiday sales resultsLarge online retailers—like furniture giant Wayfair Inc.—and small ones—such as four-year-old Feat Socks—had a lucrative Thanksgiving weekend, posting strong year-over-year online sales increases. Wayfair, Benefit Cosmetics, LeftLane Sports, Birchbox, Poshmark, Fleet Feat, and Tortuga Backpacks share with Internet Retailer their Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday results. Read more…

Returns fraud still plagues retailers

shopping fraud returns researchIn the midst of the busiest shopping days of the year, fraudulent returns by consumers continue to cause problems and cost retailers in-store and online. Overall, product returns decreased slightly from 11.3% in 2017 to 10.8% this year, according to recent National Retail Federation (NRF) research. There’s a small amount of good news as the average returns fraud rate also dropped slightly from 10.8% in 2017 to 8.2% of all returns in 2018. Read more…

Marriott says 500 million Starwood guest records stolen in massive data breach

Marriott hotels data breach

Starwood Hotels has confirmed its hotel guest database of about 500 million customers has been stolen in a data breach. The hotel and resorts giant said in a statement filed with US regulators that the “unauthorized access” to its guest database was detected on or before September 10 — but may date back as far as 2014. Read more…

A manufacturer finds e‑commerce is better the second time around

B2B e-commerceA small manufacturer and marketer of workplace safety gear is getting a big lift from B2B e-commerce. But success in e-commerce wasn’t always the case for Ergodyne, a St. Paul, Minnesota, manufacturer that for 35 years has been making workplace safety products ranging from lanyards for securing tools to bright fluorescent vests worn by road repair crews. Read more…

Top three tech trends disrupting the payments industry

payments industryAdvances in payment technologies have dramatically disrupted the finance industry and traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Payment transactions have evolved considerably from simple cash payments to bank cards and are now transforming again to encompass contactless capabilities. This new digitally driven era has seen developments such as near-field communication technology (NFC), mPOS and wearables become the norm. Read more…

This reusable coffee cup has contactless payments built in

Costa Coffee CupsThe UK’s love of takeaway coffee is causing a huge waste problem, with less than 1 percent of disposable coffee cups being recycled. But Costa thinks it has a solution that will not only get you your daily caffeine hit faster but also help you do your bit to save the planet. The soon-to-be Coca-Cola subsidiary is launching a reusable cup with its own detachable contactless chip powered by Barclaycard’s payment tech. Read more…

Many merchants prefer your debit and credit cards over cash payments

cash payments are dropping in popularityDuring this holiday season, busy shoppers may find that some merchants prefer payments with debit or credit cards instead of cash payments. USA Today reports some of the companies going cashless include clothing retailers such as Bonobos, Indochino, Everlane and Reformation; Amazon bookstores; Casper Mattress; Drybar hair styling; The Bar Method fitness studios; and United and Delta airlines (at ticket counters and in-flight purchases). Read more…

70% of consumers still want human interaction versus bots

human contact preferred over botsAbout 70% consumers surveyed about their customer service preferences said they would rather speak to a human customer service representative than engage with a digital customer service rep or chatbot, the Sitel Group revealed in its 2018 Index Report. 48% said the biggest reason was they were not confident digital assistants could understand and help with their requests. Read more…

US Faster Payments Council launched by payments industry

some retailers don't want cash

Industry leaders recently formed a new organization, the U.S. Faster Payments Council (FPC), to foster the development of a better payment system in the country. The FPC will be focused on private-sector approaches to addressing issues that inhibit the adoption of faster payments. Specifically, the council will adopt practices that enhance safety and security for service providers and users of faster payments and develop guidelines to address opportunities and issues. Read more…