Browsing from site to site, filling online shopping carts with our wildest imagination in palpable form seems too good to be true. The dot com boom has boasted web based consumerism, and slowing down seems to be nowhere in sight. The online marketplace, from inception, has been a questionable endeavor for a significant number of shoppers. As I am sure we have all questioned at least once regarding online shopping, the thought arises if a third party source can access some of our most private information, address, card numbers, telephone, etc.
Surge in telephone technology has sent the smartphone market into en e commerce frenzy. Not only are smartphones becoming the dominant choice amongst communicative options, the possibilities are endless with the world literally in the palm of users hands. In 2012 mobile commerce accounted for a 10 billion dollar yield with 37.6 million mobile buyers implementing application based programming on smartphones and tablets. Future projections reveal a steady increase in mobile commerce and further developments in technology to back the buying burst. However, are we sacrificing privacy for convenience?
As e commerce rises, more companies are adapting to predominantly online solutions for customers. No surprise arises when revealed that about 137 million online shoppers indulged in 2010 and increase to around 38 million online shoppers by 2016. Recorded in 2011, an astonishing one third of grossed online consumer buys derived from travel and flight accommodations. Adapting to web based consumerism is imperative for businesses; however, customer comfort and privacy must remain at the forefront.
With steady increase of technological prevalence and reliability, web based consumer options is becoming first option over traditional POS operating systems and cash buys. Providing service for customers to pay online ensures the safe and secure exchange of money between business and consumer. E commerce usage usurps a greater risk with processing credit cards, and the potential of valuable information slipping into the wrong hands. Companies are working harder than ever to ensure the security of buying and information transactions made online through business to business and business to consumer solutions.
Online retailers display secured paged icons to ease consumers about information links. Often consumers contemplate who is protecting the site and whether they can be trusted. Business to business or, b2b credit card processing is designed to ensure quality assurance between businesses and markets for protecting assets and reducing unnecessary cost. Internet merchant accounts and merchant processing are fast and secure solutions, which protect business, processing credit cards, the information they receive and relay to online payment systems and mobile processing. Merchants typically seek partnerships with SaaS or, software as a service, programming which acts as an online payment processor. Payment processing companies work with merchants and businesses to customize payments specifically tailored to their unique consumer needs and desires while increasing security and efficiency. The customer buying experience is continually held at top priority.
Payment Card Industry compliance further secures payment processing for consumers. Companies must adhere to guidelines and standards set forth by the PCI Security Standards Council to increase and monitor card data security, and safe handling of cardholder information. Security measures will continue to improve for consumers. With online shopping in 2012 producing an estimated 289 billion, a 33 billion dollar increase from 2011s gross production of about 256 billion dollars, there is no room for error in processing credit cards and loss of consumer trust and safety.