How to Protect eCommerce Data of Users [Expert Notes]

eCommerce businesses have been growing rapidly since digitalisation came into power. The Internet has provided us with the facility to shop wherever and whenever we want. Online shopping has made life convenient and much easier compared to traditional ways of shopping. You must have to protect eCommerce data of users.

eCommerce is such a wide topic that understanding it requires a lot of patience and perseverance. But as you know, every coin has two sides & so does this eCommerce. The ease that we have now comes with a price. 

An increasing number of cybercrimes and illegal online deals require robust security and protection. And being in this highly competitive market, you need to keep your customers satisfied. And security is among the biggest concerns of all internet users today. So, if you are running an eCommerce, then this blog can help you out. 

• Why is it important to Secure Your eCommerce and User Data?  
• We need to protect our user’s E-commerce data, but why? 
• Why is it so important? 

A user’s data plays a very significant role in determining their purchasing patterns and other personal stuff. It helps businesses know their customers at a much deeper level and build healthy relationships between them. 

And protecting it makes your user satisfied at an increased level…

Reasons Why You Need to Secure User’s data. Let’s find out!

1. You will see a drastic downfall in your customer churn rate:
   Customer churn rate implies the number of people who stopped being your customer after a certain period. Every company wants to retain their customers, but they are not aware of the foundation needed to make it happen.
   
   So, if your customers are satisfied with you & they feel a sense of protection, then they will surely not leave you. But you have to make sure it happens! And added protection brings you one step ahead in this.
2. Will protect you from any kind of financial or legal consequences:
   Online hackers are capable of causing some long-term and serious damage to your company. They could do illegal shopping or use customers’ personal information for their benefit.
   
   When this happens, users’ trust in the company decreases, and the entire enterprise suffers its consequences. That is why you should take all the required precautions to secure your date and avoid such adverse consequences.
3. You will gain more investors and business partners to enhance the overall growth:
   Company’s image gets affected when any sensitive data is assaulted in any way. These unfavorable events affect prosperity and growth, but they take away all your potential customers and investors thinking that the company is unworthy of trust and unsafe for investment.
   
   On the other hand, when a company successfully manages to keep its data private and safe it has a good image, and attracts way more investors to expand the business to make it more relevant in the long term.
4. Will make you look like a professional and reliable business partner:
   The basis of any successful business is building trust and equity with your customers. If companies adopt an appropriate security system, they will immediately attract and keep potential customers for a longer period.

   When customers are comfortable and feel secure with you, they are more likely to become frequent buyers and also refer others regarding the same. And this is exactly what companies need and optimum security can offer this!

Protect Your User’s eCommerce Data in 13 Easy Ways

1. Collect only relevant & necessary data: 

To gain more conversions and higher engagement on your websites, some companies mindlessly collect a lot of useless information which they never use, which increases the storage requirements. 

That is why it is recommended to store only relevant data during registration so that you don’t face any issues like information overload or data theft. 

Storing a lot of data is pretty risky because a data breach can not only make you lose customers but will also damage your brand’s reputation. You may also have to pay a heavy amount to government agencies as a penalty – which you surely don’t want. So, store only important data to prevent further risks. 

2. The HTTPS shift

Knowing and implementing guidelines by PCI-DSS is a must for any online store owner. Guidelines are nothing but a security measure required to make your eCommerce a more reliable HTTPS web product. 

Making an HTTPS shift on your website is important to rank it higher on google. 

Some websites that have not made a shift yet have a sign of “Not Secure” on them. These non-HTTPS websites are more likely to go down and have attacks that can cause data breaches and cybercrimes. And also, customers are less likely to visit and take action on such types of websites. 

So, to prevent this problem, get your website an SSL certificate to protect the communication among the web service and visitors’ browsers so that you can easily put restrictions on access to third-party websites. 

3. Timely update your websites or applications: 

Timely updates are needed to keep your website strong and encrypted. Every website has some errors and vulnerabilities which must be updated and removed before hackers create any kind of havoc or steal any important information from the website. 

When you update your website, you receive premium themes and advanced features to make it secure and trustworthy for customers. 

Here’s a tip from our end – Using CMS to protect your website is the best thing you can do for your rapidly growing business. A CMS is safe, provides end-to-end bug fixes, has advanced functionalities, and also provides updated security.

4. Two-factor authentication 

The chances of getting your data hacked or stolen are higher if your website is easily accessible to anyone. Two-factor authentication is a great way to verify your visitors as secure for both company and other customers. 

By using this technique, you can easily protect your user’s passwords and other details and offer a better extent of security to the visitors. Apart from “asking for a password”, you can use another factor like a  facial recognition, security token, biometric, or fingerprint measure to further tighten the security. 

5. Explore Encryption-In-Use Solutions: 

Exploring encryption in use solutions is quite useful to make your web products more secure and reliable for users. This is a technology-oriented world where encryption-in-use of large database applications is practical. 

Therefore, it is crucial for companies to implement the data of a data-at-rest encryption solution and cybersecurity. 

Using technology to protect your eCommerce site is an effective way to reduce both external and internal threats that are widely targeting the industry. On the other hand, it is an easier option as well. 

6. Behavioural analytics can help pinpoint suspicious behaviour:

 Analytics tools are one of the best practices to find out how a visitor behaves on your website. Using those analytics, you can also compare their current behaviour with their past behaviour. 

This way, you can easily know if there is any suspicious activity happening on your website/application or not. Using this method of analysis can lead to faster recognition, investigation, and response to any kind of severe or mild threat.

7. Automated Digital Certificate Management is really helpful: 

Automated Digital Certificate management is used to reduce the possibility of human error and downtime on the site. We often say that it is beneficial to encrypt data in transit and storage, but it is easier said than done. 

In eCommerce, it is recommended to handle identities at scale and challenge your vendor to future-proof the security of encrypted data. And this automated digital certificate management can make it possible with ease. 

8. Use Site-search personalisation and category navigation tools: 

Category navigation is similar to site-search navigation but still has some relevant differences. 

Category navigation is used to know your shopper’s browsing habits, while site search navigation analyses the areas of your product catalogue shoppers are currently exploring. 

Site search and category navigation both remember personal preferences to tailor search results in real-time. This allows users to have more personalised browsing experiences than ever while also managing the suspicious activity on your website which you can prevent to save yourself from future harmful consequences. 

9. Implement additional security measures: 

Cybercrimes and other illegal online activities are rising globally. In a situation like this, it becomes highly important for eCommerce site owners to use advanced security measures to protect their customers from hackers. 

You can do a variety of things, such as…

• Use an effective firewall to safeguard your eCommerce Data from malware infections. 
• Do not allow traffic from any kind of suspicious or untrustworthy data centres. 
• Store information that is relevant and useful in the long run and removes the unnecessary ones. 
• Do not allow third-parties to access your data without permission. 

10. First-party cookies are more useful than third-party: 

Cookies are used to track users’ online behaviour so that we can get some information about their preferences and interests. Cookies do not cause any harm and are used to enhance the users’ experience. 

First-party cookies are not used for advertising, they are only good for protecting and tracking data. That is why it is recommended to switch from third-party to first-party cookies. 

First-party cookies ensure the comfortable visiting of the customer without any kind of fear. Many browsers are constantly restricting third-party cookies and using first-party cookies instead. Your business will be in great profit if you switch to first-party cookies as soon as possible.

But, make sure to protect the personalised customer data in a feasible manner. 

11. Ask users to frequently change their passwords: 

Nowadays, almost everyone has a lot of online accounts and numerous passwords. It becomes difficult to keep track of these many passwords, which is why many users use the same password for all of their other accounts. 

Though this is a convenient way to remember all your passwords, there is a risk that comes with it. If any of these accounts gets hacked, all the other accounts become vulnerable too. Therefore, it is your duty as a website owner to recommend users change their passwords, frequently resulting in better protection and trust. 

Because even if it is a mistake of users, it might affect your business reputation as well. 

12. Fraud detection software is no longer an option: 

Fraud transactions are bad for your business’s health. They are capable of not only damaging your money but also vandalising your business’s reputation. 

Fraud detection software is useful in identifying suspicious activities and takes the required action to safeguard your user’s data. There is various fraud detection software available out there, choose the one that suits you the best and then install it on your website accordingly. 

Installation can either be completed within seconds or may take hours. Depending on the software you choose, it will vary. After the installation is completed, test it to make your it is working perfectly or not. 

13: Educate your employees about the importance of protecting users’ data: 

The owner of the organisation cannot handle the entire responsibility on its own. Every employee needs to understand the significance of protecting eCommerce Data and should make efforts in safeguarding the same. 

They should be aware of everything, including encryption, two-factor authentication and other protection techniques and software. Inform them about how it can help in securing user data and that they should frequently change their passwords to avoid phishing scams. 

Give your employees the power to report suspicious activities as soon as they find any and also update your security measures frequently to keep your eCommerce Data safeguarded. 

Conclusion

So, with this blog now you are aware of why it is important to protect your eCommerce data if you own an eCommerce store. 

We have also listed 13 best practices to ensure complete protection of your customers’ data. So, apply all these practices and be alert if you detect any suspicious activity on your website. 

Safeguarding your customer’s data is indeed a challenging task, and this industry is combating it like a professional. So, you should do it too – in order to beat your competitors and satisfy your customers at the same time. 

It is crucial to be responsible for your customer’s information as it will help people build trust in your brand and you will attract more investors and business owners. You can even add your suggestions as well, we would love to hear from you.

The eCommerce team of KrishaWeb is experts at creating an online store, be it a small one or a fully-fledged webstore that attracts customers and boosts sales. Along with that, we have a marketing team that ensures that your fully functional store hits the right audience and reaches the target customers. We make sure that your store is up and running as well as performing at its peak.

Whether it’s development, marketing, or maintenance, we ace it all! For any queries, just give us a quick shoutout!