Struggling to convince the C-suite to invest in cybersecurity? A new report from digital consulting firm Capgemini indicates that retail companies spending on cybersecurity translates to customer confidence and, therefore, higher sales, according to IT Canada.
The survey of 6,120 consumers and 206 executives at retail companies in the U.S., France, the U.K., Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands and India indicated that cybersecurity ranked third in consumer decision making factors, above pricing and brand reputation. Only product availability and quality ranked higher.
By implementing strong security protocols, companies can drive customer satisfaction to increase by 13 per cent, and 40 per cent of them would be willing to increase their online spend by 20 per cent with trusted retailers, according to report. This increase would translate to a 5.4 increase in annual revenue, claimed Capgemini.
Not all companies are on board with cybersecurity efforts despite these findings, according to the report.
At a retail level, although forty per cent of the retailers profiled reported data breaches between 2015 and 2017 involving customer financial or personal data, 21 per cent of consumers polled said they heard their primary retailer’s name mentioned in association with a data breach.
The report said less than half of the respondents performed regular security audits, and recommended the following four practices:
- Understanding and reinforcing the organization’s vulnerabilities
- Identifying the biggest threats and adopt best practices to detect them
- Involving top management to invest in the key security initiatives
- Developing a solid incident response plan to prevent customer churn
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