What is M-Commerce?
Mobile commerce (aka “m-commerce”) refers to consumers shopping via wireless handheld accessories such as cell phones and PDAs. An m-commerce site is a version of a company’s webpage that is designed to fit within the constraints of a cell phone or PDA. (For more information on what makes a site m-commerce friendly please see “Make Your Site iPhone Friendly.”) While some m-commerce sites are set up to drive sales, the majority of retailers utilize m-commerce primarily as an additional branding channel.

Where is M-Commerce Now?
An article* written in 2007 for Internet Retailer Magazine stated, “The presence of e-retailers with mobile sites is growing; but just like Internet adoption in the mid-‘90s, e-retailers today are taking baby steps toward initiating a mobile presence. At the moment the majority of m-commerce transactions are limited to mobile device add-ons like ringtones, games, wallpapers, and screensavers.” Recent studies conducted earlier this year prove that m-commerce is (more…)

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Lately we seem to be getting a lot of questions about merchant accounts here at Volusion. This week I sat down with members of our merchant account team to get more information about merchant account basics. Here is what I learned:

Q: What is a “merchant account” exactly?
A: A merchant account is how online stores accept credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express); it requires a payment gateway and payment processor. The payment gateway encrypts customer data to send it securely from the online store to the payment processor. A payment processor then gives the transaction information to the card provider, which approves or declines the transaction. The processor then moves the money from the customer’s account to the seller’s account and voila you’ve been paid!

Q: Does an online store owner really need a merchant account or can he/she just use Pay Pal or Google Checkout?
A: When you are using Pay Pal/Google Checkout, the customer shops on your site but when they’re ready to purchase they have to leave your site so they can put in their personal information and payment details to complete their order. When this happens customers can get scared off and abandon the cart because (more…)

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Now more than ever it is important to hone in on the most affective marketing strategies to attract and retain customers. In recent polls approximately 41% of respondents said that they pay more attention to personalized advertising over regular advertising. Similarly, 39% said that they are more likely to click on those personalized ads. Clearly personalizing or targeting ads is an effective strategy to both gain consumer awareness and motivate consumer action. However, consumers also demonstrated a concern for their privacy while online. A reported 57% expressed worry over whether or not their browsing history was being used by advertisers to provide them with those highly effective ads. These figures show that while consumers appreciate the personalization of online ads they also are weary about the risk that comes along with such personalization. Consumers want to be served- not stalked.

As a marketer there must be a balance between utilizing relevant personal information to position your products/services to consumers and also a respect for the privacy of online browsers. So how do you obtain that sort of a balance in your marketing efforts? You will first need to instill confidence in consumers and secondly get them to volunteer their personal information rather than just taking it from the many sources where it may be available online.

Instill Confidence in Consumers Regarding Your Company

• Privacy Policy
  A prominently displayed privacy policy is something that can go a long way in making consumers feel safe on your website. Let consumers know that you will not share their private information. If you do not know how to write a professionally phrased privacy policy do not worry- most ecommerce solutions already have a template that you can add to or alter as you see fit.
• Expectations
  Make sure that consumers know what to expect when they are on your website or when they buy from you. Many times this sort of information can be added to an “About Us” section. Will you use the information they provide to you to send them newsletters or mail? Will they receive an automated email when the order is processed? If you set expectations for consumers from the start they will not be confused down the road or feel that your actions are an invasion of their privacy.

Get Consumers to Give You Their Information Voluntarily

• Reward Consumers
  Accurate timely information about your customers is one of the biggest assets you can have as a business owner. If you are looking to ramp up your customer list try offering an incentive in exchange for personal information- offer a free gift, coupon, free shipping, etc. in exchange for providing you with full contact information.
• Easy Opt-Ins
  Set up an opt-in button to allow consumers to opt-in to newsletters and other correspondences easily while they are completing other tasks like checking out.
• Leverage “Must Haves”
  If there are items on your site or things that your company does that are considered  “Must Haves” by consumers (ex. coupon emails, newsletters, wholesale pages, etc.) require that consumers provide their full contact information in exchange for gaining access to them.
• Just Ask
  Do not be afraid to just ask consumers for their information on social media sites where your business has a profile/account if they are fans or have expressed interest in your company. Be clear about how you will be using it and make sure it is being exchanged securely (via direct message, email, etc.) Obviously you do not want to do this all the time, but if you feel it can be of benefit go ahead and ask a consumer or group of consumers to share more about who they are.
• Allow Elaboration
  Provide the option for consumers to give you more than their basic information. Utilizing things like the order notes section can help you get a better idea of your consumer profiles as well as their wants and needs. Often people are more than willing to give extra information if they feel like they have a place to do so.

Volusion’s Privacy Policy

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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Chances are you have heard CISP and PCI DSS thrown around in conversation or seen it referred to in forums or blog posts. But what does it all mean? Hopefully this article will answer the questions you have wondered about but were too afraid to ask.

What Is It?
In 2001 Visa created CISP (Cardholder Information Security Program) and in 2004 CISP gave way to a joint effort among the credit card companies now known as PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). PCI DSS  (or PCI for short) developed industry standards for providers and merchants to make sure that cardholder data was being protected when stored and transmitted.

How Does Your Provider Get Certified?
According to Visa PCI certification requires that providers:

1. Install and maintain a firewall
2. Not use vendor supplied defaults for security parameters
3. Protect stored data
4. Encrypt the transmission of sensitive information
5. Use and regularly update ant-virus software
6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
7. Restrict access to data on a need-to-know basis
8. Assign a unique ID to each person with access to data
9. Restrict physical access to data
10. Track and monitor all access to data
11. Regularly test security systems and processes
12. Maintain an information security policy

Why Is It Important?
Merchants using a non-PCI certified provider can face some grave consequences. Class action lawsuits can be filed, fines of up to $10,000 a month and $500,000 per incident can be imposed; not to mention that if a merchant is found to be incompliant their ability to process transactions can be revoked. Any one of these results can cripple a business. If you want to be successful online you need to make sure that your provider is not going to jeopardize your business.

Can You Check Your Provider’s Certification?
To check the status of your provider <link http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/cisp-list-of-pcidss-compliant-service-providers.pdf> you can view Visa’s independently maintained list of certified providers worldwide. Their list documents each certified provider, the assessor that conducted the audit, the services that were reviewed, and the date of validation (so that you know if their certification is current).

How Do You Explain It To Your Customers?
If customers ask if their information is secure or what precautions are taken to protect them you can explain that your provider is certified and explain what this means for them using the information above, or you can provide them with these links:

• Visa CISP Overview

• Volusion is PCI Certified

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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While the online fraud rate has remained steady over the last few years, the amount of total dollars lost by online businesses to fraudulent scams has increased. According to recent data collected, online merchants lost about $4 billion to fraud in 2008. The biggest reason why online businesses lost more money to fraudulent scams in 2008 than previous years is simply that riskier transactions were processed. In 2007 on average 4.2% of online orders placed were rejected due to suspicion of fraud. However, in 2008 an average of only 2.9% of transactions were rejected. With the average fraud rate remaining constant this meant that many more fraudulent transactions than the years prior were processed. CyberSource explains “Merchants had to accept more charges lest they turn away sales in tough economic times.”

The dangers of processing fraudulent transactions online range from losing money on the transactions themselves to being fined to lawsuits and even getting your ability to process transactions online revoked. So, what can you do to insure that your ecommerce business is not at risk to lose money?

1. Make Sure Your Provider Is Compliant
   Your ecommerce provider should be PCI Compliant/CISP Certified. Do not just take your provider’s word that they are compliant. Check for yourself that they are on Visa’s independently maintained list.
2. Secure Your Site
   Most merchant account providers (the provider that processes your credit card transactions) will require that you have an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate, which encrypts all information that your customers enter on your site before sending it across the internet. If you do not have an SSL you can get one installed in just a few days. The two most common types of consumer SSLs are 64 bit and 128 bit encrypted. The 64 bit SSL will secure your customers’ data, but not nearly as well as the 128 bit variety. The 256 bit SSL is not a good value for the extra money because it is much more than a traditional ecommerce site would need- those are meant primarily for the government. We strongly recommend the 128 bit SSL for all online stores.
3. Be Cautious When Processing Orders
   Before you charge a customer or ship a product you should make sure that the order looks legitimate. If you have any concerns you can try to contact the customer before you process the order or reject it altogether. Some things to look for that may signal that an order is fraudulent are the following:

• Billing and shipping addresses that don’t match (especially if they are in different countries)
• An IP address from an area different than the billing or shipping address
• A different name on the credit card from the contact information provided
• Multiple orders by the same individual (especially in a short period of time)
• Previous declined orders by that individual
• Large quantities of the same product included in the order (ex. 10 cellphones of the same model)
• High order total compared to your average order size (if it seems too good to be true it probably is)

If you have any questions you can always contact your provider, or ask your peers.

-Kate Pierce eCommerce Specialist

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