Fraudulent emails are affecting UK shoppers and could be costing retailers sales ahead of Black Friday, according to a consumer study by digital trust company DigiCert.
The study of 2,000 UK consumers found that 43 per cent had deleted or abandoned an email in the past year because they were unsure whether it was genuine. Nearly one in five (18 per cent) had delayed a purchase, and 12 per cent had shopped with another retailer.
Just 3 per cent of UK shoppers say they would open or click an offer they could not verify came from a brand. A quarter (25 per cent) would delete the email, and 23 per cent would ignore or abandon the offer.
Paul Holt, Group Vice President, EMEA at DigiCert, said: “Black Friday is one of the biggest opportunities for retailers, but trust can make or break a sale before a customer even reaches the website. With shoppers increasingly wary of fraudulent offers, legitimate brands need to make it easier for customers to recognise authentic communications.”
Fake delivery emails
Nine in ten (90 per cent) UK consumers said they had received a suspicious email in the past year, and delivery companies were the most impersonated organisations. Among those who received suspicious emails, 63 per cent had seen messages claiming to come from parcel or delivery providers.
More than a third (34 per cent) of UK shoppers judge whether an email is genuine partly by whether they were expecting it. That makes fake delivery notices more convincing when shoppers are waiting for a real parcel.
Al Iverson, Industry Research and Community Engagement Lead at Valimail, a DigiCert company, said: “Shoppers shouldn’t have to play detective every time an offer lands in their inbox. Retailers can help by making their emails harder to impersonate and easier to recognise.”
Confident shoppers still caught out
Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of UK shoppers believe they could spot a professionally written scam email. However, 42 per cent still rely on spelling and grammar to judge whether an email is genuine.
In total, 38 per cent have acted on an email before realising it was fraudulent. That includes 25 per cent who clicked a link and 8 per cent who made a payment or purchase.
Signs of authenticity
More than half (56 per cent) of UK consumers said they would choose a brand that shows its official logo in the inbox over a competitor with a similar promotion. More than eight in ten (81 per cent) said knowing a logo had been independently verified would make them feel safer. However, 38 per cent did not know verified inbox logos exist.
Doubts also extend to product listings. More than a third (37 per cent) of UK shoppers have decided not to buy because they were unsure whether an image or video was genuine. At checkout, 53 per cent said a trust mark confirming who runs the website would make them more likely to complete a purchase.
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