For online retailers, the idea that they have only one chance to make a good impression is never more evident than during the holiday shopping season. As shoppers look for gifts, many explore new products and services, allowing retailers to win new customers. But the trouble for retailers is that the flurry of first-time shopper activity can also resemble fraud.  

“Online orders come rushing in, and there are so many unusual buying patterns—orders from never-before-seen customers, orders shipping to locations other than the billing address, orders with high-end items not ordered in the past,” says Mike Cassidy, head of storytelling for Signifyd, an Adobe Platinum Technology Partner. Signifyd’s Commerce Protection Platform integrates with Adobe Commerce to provide brands with protection from fraud and policy abuse, leading to higher conversions and increased customer lifetime value.  

Retailers obviously don’t want to ship a fraudulently ordered item. But more than that, they want to avoid incorrectly declining a purchase because they’ve mistakenly identified a first-time customer’s order as fraudulent. This is where Signifyd makes the difference during the holiday season and throughout the year.  

Signifyd recognizes customers instantly 98% of the time, thanks to its extensive Commerce Network. With insights from millions of transactions, Signifyd’s fraud protection tool helps retailers understand which orders are legitimate, enabling them to provide an experience that transforms first-time buyers into loyal fans.  

First-time shopper or fraud?  

The consequences of misidentifying a first-time shopper as a bad actor are significant. Think about it: A new customer finds the perfect gift on a site they have never purchased from before, and they are excited to buy it. “But if that order is incorrectly declined, it’s likely to be the first and last time that customer shops that particular site,” Cassidy says.  

Merchants routinely reject one in seven orders—and sometimes more—in defense of fraud. Those false declines (turning down legitimate orders for fear of fraud) cost merchants $443 billion annually. And that staggering dollar amount doesn’t account for the damage to the customer experience and the potential loss of return shoppers put off by the downgraded experience.

In fact, 36% of consumers who have had an order declined for no apparent reason said they never shopped with that retailer again, according to a Signifyd consumer survey. The ability to accurately identify new customers lays the foundation for the relationship. If retailers can also ship the products quickly, they’ll meet customer expectations—and, hopefully, garner repeat business based on the quality of the experience.   

Signifyd’s network effect   

Signifyd’s Adobe Commerce partnership provides merchants with a global commerce network of 600 million unique shoppers. “For reference, that’s more than Amazon Prime,” Cassidy says. “The network consists of thousands of merchants in all verticals around the world.”  

The millions of transactions occurring across the network fuel Signifyd’s learning models, which instantly know which orders are trustworthy and should be fulfilled. Signifyd’s fraud prevention technology relies on thousands of signals, including transaction, behavioral and historical customer data. However, Cassidy notes that no single element tells the whole story.   

“Legitimate orders frequently come with red flags that have a perfectly innocent explanation,” he says. “That’s why fraud prevention efforts must approach the task holistically.”  

With Signifyd, Adobe Commerce merchants can recognize each customer’s unique combination of order attributes, even if the customer has never shopped with the merchant before. Thus, retailers can avoid false declines. Even better, companies can approve orders and ship them that much quicker. The latter is a must in an Amazon era when customer expectations are high—and it’s essential during the holidays when customers need gifts to arrive on time.   

It’s not just the holidays

Of course, accurate fraud detection is critical during the winter holiday season, given the revenue retailers generate in the fourth quarter. But merchants should be ready year-round to provide a quality experience for first-time customers and to be prepared for order spikes.  

Signifyd’s Commerce Protection Platform gives Adobe Commerce merchants enhanced fraud detection capabilities they can rely on throughout the year. Retailers can tap the size of Signifyd’s network and the experience of its learning machines to sort fraudulent transactions, save the business money and earn customer trust during the holiday season and any other time.   

“The principles and best practices that make sense for the winter holidays also serve a purpose for the rest of the year,” Cassidy says.   

Interested in learning more about how Signifyd can improve fraud detection, increase order approval and enhance customer experience? Connect with us today.