# Coronavirus Impact on E-Commerce & Fraud The world has changed dramatically since the outbreak of Coronavirus. As a core part of Forter's mission to empower merchants to confidently grow their businesses based on an ecosystem of trust, Forter has created this weekly report to share insights on consumer behavior and fraud trends during this unprecedented time. ### Sneak Peek: Fraud Trends **Promo Abuse:** As merchants across categories realize they need to pivot their business operations to replace lost revenue from closed brick and mortar stores, they very quickly have begun offering promotions for new account openings. Savvy customers know that by creating a new account, they can take advantage of promotions that would otherwise be unavailable to them as returning customers. Abusers see this as an opportunity to exploit discounts and cash in. Merchant systems unprepared to combat this form of abuse risk forced subsidization of fake accounts and lost revenue. ### Impact on Transaction Volume by Industry While not offsetting the pains that many merchants are feeling in the physical world – with their brick and mortar operations being forced to shut down – influxes in online consumer buying patterns have underscored a need for merchants to dynamically digitally transform their business. *Percentage changes reported for each category are the transaction volume for the week ending May 3, 2020, compared to a baseline value which is the median value during the 5-week period between Jan 6–Feb 9, 2020 (Weeks 2-6 of 2020).* #### Home Furnishings & Garden - **399%** increase in transaction volume. People are investing more time and effort into home improvement projects including “Do It Yourself” (“DIY”) crafting projects and making investments in mattresses and bedding. This is reflected in the upward trend in online shopping at home furnishings and garden stores. #### Food & Beverage - **190%** increase in transaction volume. While many other industries are feeling the pains of dampened consumer demands, merchants in the food and beverage industry are instead seeing an influx in overall demand. #### Groceries & Deliveries - Continuing increased transaction volume. The online grocery and delivery category continues to see an increase in transaction volume. Online grocery shopping is likely to persist in the medium term as an alternative for consumers as fears of Coronavirus persist. #### Travel The travel industry – including Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), airlines, ground transportation, and hotels – has been one of the most dynamic categories as the outbreak of Coronavirus persists. Fluctuations specifically in air travel volume have been to some extent less due to Coronavirus documented cases themselves, but more specifically due to formal travel restrictions on incoming travelers from high-risk countries. #### Apparel & Accessories Many brands in this category, which also includes footwear and sunglasses, are pivoting away from placing orders for high-end luxury items given the current climate. Merchants that have been able to ramp up their digital presence to better accommodate customer interactions have seen an influx in consumer activity. #### Jewelry Jewelry and high-end luxury products have seen a steady and consistent increase in consumer transaction volume in this category since week 13, as jewelry brands have slowly started to maximize their online channels. #### Beauty Recent weeks have shown a significant increase in consumers buying skincare products, as individuals now have more time to invest in their skincare routines and large-scale promotions entice shoppers to buy online. #### Marketplaces Marketplace merchants should be aware of new sellers just joining marketplace platforms. They will promise specific goods or new items, but they haven’t adopted the same level of service old sellers have. This can lead to rising rates of service or fraud chargebacks that will cause increased strain to businesses’ operations teams. ### Digital Goods Digital goods have shown relative consistency throughout the last month. The spikes seen in the early days of the virus outbreak within this category have stabilized. #### Computers As more individuals are working from home, a continued slight increase in computer transaction volume indicates consumers are still investing more in their home workstations. --- ### Last Remarks The rapid digital transformation and huge volatility in traffic across many industries, along with the changes driven by cost reduction activities throughout the business sector, generates a lot of uncertainty and operational pressure. Forter provides COVID-19 specific support tools for merchants that are currently facing these challenges.