Friday, November 6, 2009

comScore Reports Q3 2009 U.S. E-Commerce Spending Down 2 Percent vs. Year Ago

Press Release

42 Percent of E-Commerce Transactions in Q3 Included Free Shipping

comScore to Host Webinar on Q3 2009 E-Commerce Review and Forecast for 2009 Holiday Season on Thursday, November 12

RESTON, VA, November 5, 2009 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its Q3 2009 retail e-commerce sales estimates, which showed that U.S. online retail spending totaled $29.6 billion, down 2 percent versus year ago. Q3 2009 represents the first time on record that consecutive quarters have seen negative e-commerce spending growth compared with the same quarter the year prior.

Retail E-Commerce (Non-Travel) Growth Rates Excludes Auctions, Autos and Large Corporate Purchases Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc.
Quarter	Y/Y Percent Change
Q1 2007	17%
Q2 2007	23%
Q3 2007	23%
Q4 2007	19%
Q1 2008	11%
Q2 2008	13%
Q3 2008	6%
Q4 2008	-3%
Q1 2009	0%
Q2 2009	-1%
Q3 2009	-2%

“The third quarter showed negative marginal growth for the second consecutive quarter – the first time on record we’ve witnessed sustained dips in U.S. e-commerce spending, small though the declines may be,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni. “The good news is that these declines may finally be in our rear view mirror, as we anticipate marginally positive growth for the fourth quarter. With retailers gearing up for the online holiday shopping bonanza, and a fourth quarter that will include easier comparisons against year ago, we are hopeful that this Christmas season will be merrier than the last.”

Join Mr. Fulgoni as he presents an update of the state of the U.S. online retail economy through Q3 2009 in a live webinar on Thursday, November 12 from 2 - 3 p.m. EST/1 - 2 p.m. CST/11 a.m. - noon PST. Webinar registration details are below.

Free Shipping a Must-Have Incentive for Retailers in 2009 Holiday Season

Over the past few years, free shipping has become a particularly critical incentive for stimulating online purchase behavior, and its importance has increased considerably during the recent economic downturn. The past several quarters have seen the percentage of e-commerce sales transactions including free shipping increase from 31 percent in Q1 2008 to 42 percent in Q3 2009.

E-Commerce Free Shipping Analysis Q1 2008 – Q3 2009 Total U.S. – Home/Work/University Locations Source: comScore, Inc.
	Share (%) of E-Commerce Transactions
	Free Shipping	Paid Shipping
Q1 2008	31%	69%
Q2 2008	34%	66%
Q3 2008	35%	65%
Q4 2008	38%	62%
Q1 2009	37%	63%
Q2 2009	43%	57%
Q3 2009	42%	58%

“Free shipping has become an increasingly essential promotion in the e-commerce marketer’s toolkit,” added Mr. Fulgoni. “With more than 40 percent of all e-commerce transactions now including free shipping, it’s clear that consumers respond favorably to this incentive and in many cases have come to expect it from retailers. The retailers who do not offer free shipping deals this holiday season may find themselves at a significant disadvantage versus those who do.”

Webinar Series: State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy through Q3 2009

The webinar presentation will include an overview of changes in consumers’ online spending patterns through Q3 2009 (with a preview of October 2009 e-commerce spending), survey findings that highlight consumer sentiments regarding the economy in 2009, as well as an analysis of spending patterns across key product categories, retailer sectors and consumer demographic segments. The webinar will also include a forecast of the critical 2009 holiday online shopping season.

To register for the webinar, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/408403728

About comScore

comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.

Contact:

Andrew Lipsman

Director, Marketing Communications

comScore, Inc.

+1 312 775 6510

press@comscore.com

How Banks Can Be Serious Players in P2P Payments

How Banks Are Looking to Become Serious Players in P2P Payments

(November 6, 2009) Electronic person-to-person payments have been around this entire decade, but they’re still largely the domain of specialists such as PayPal Inc. and a host of tech companies. But leading bank processors are getting into the P2P act, and if they’re successful they could spur greater usage from the consumer mainstream and confirm banks’ Web sites as go-to places for new payment services.

Continue Reading

Editor's Note: The simplest P2P Payment system is one that uses existing bank cards, existing PIN's and existing bank rails to do it in real time. When bank realize that SSL is flawed, that band-aids don't work, and that the best way to authenticate an online banking session is to mimic ATM cash dispersal methodology (Swipe Card/Enter PIN) they will also have armed themselves with the simplest P2P platform in the business. (click graphic to enlarge)

Send email, Swipe Card/Enter PIN, recipient receives email, Swipes their Card, Enters their PIN and the money is transferred in "real-time." ANY bankcard to ANY bankcard ANYwhere in the world. Only from HomeATM...

Signature Debit Being Phased Out in Australia by Visa

In a piece entitled The PIN is mightier than the Pen, TVNZ reports on the recent announcement that Australia will eliminate signatures completely by 2013. Wonder when they'll rid the world wide web of hackers' all-time favorite product, "signature debit."

Here's an excerpt:

Your PIN, not your pen, will become the form of confirmation for card payments as signatures start to be phased out from next year, a leading card issuer says.

Visa general manager for Australia and New Zealand Chris Clark said the use of signatures to approve payments was being slowly eliminated to lessen card fraud and would completely replace personal identification numbers (PIN).

"We want to minimize any opportunity for card fraud at point of sale," Clark said. "We are moving to that point by 2013 and it will be PIN and card chipping.

All new Visa credit cards issued from January 2010 will have embedded smart chips to increase security in consumer transactions, with debit cards and reloadable prepaid cards being upgraded from a year later, Clark said. "The migration from signature to PIN will allow us to take full advantage of the protection provided by chip card technology," he said.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

This...You Gotta See...

Our PCI 2.x Certified PIN Entry Device Plugs Right In...

Critical Flaw in SSL Found, Software Makers Scrambling for Band-Aid!

As previously reported in this blog, SSL cannot be trusted to secure financial transaction data. Bottom line? You need hardware to do that. Here's a sampling of reports gathered from the various news organizations on the discovery that if you trust SSL (or EV-SSL) to ensure a secure financial environment...you are SOL.

SSL Hole Cracks Open Secured Web Traffic - PC World

A critical new flaw in SSL, or the Secure Sockets Layer used to protect Web traffic for online banking, shopping, and any other https connection, allows an attacker to break into any theoretically secured connection and add malicious commands.

Scramble on to fix flaw in SSL security protocol - Computer World

Software makers around the world are scrambling to fix a serious bug in the technology used to transfer information securely on the Internet.

The flaw lies in the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, which is best known as the technology used for secure browsing on Web sites whose URLs begin with HTTPS. The bug lets attackers intercept secure SSL communications between computers using what's known as a man-in-the-middle attack. - IDG News Service

Major SSL Flaw Find Prompts Protocol Update - Dark Reading

SSL has been under siege over the past year, with the groundbreaking man-in-the-middle hack by researcher Moxie Marlinspike, which dupes a user into thinking he's in an HTTPS session when in reality he has been taken elsewhere by the attacker, as well as Kaminsky's research exposing critical flaws in X.509 certificate technology used in SSL.

But this latest threat lies within the SSL protocol itself, and will require fixes to Browsers, Web servers, database servers, mail servers, SQL servers, smart cards, and other SSL-based software.

"All the [SSL] attacks I've seen [recently] have been around the client or server software, or the way it handles a certificate," Ray says. "What's different with this [bug] is that both the client and server need to be patched to restore the full security guarantees that are expected with TLS."

Editor's Note: I know that sometimes I must sound like Chicken Little with all my ranting about how dangerous the web is to conduct financial transactions.

I don't mean to sound that way. The sky isn't falling.

You know what is? Consumer confidence in online banking and online shopping.

HomeATM can restore that confidence with the safest and most secure way to authenticate oneself for an online banking session.

We provide banks with a device that replicates an ATM transaction. "Swipe your card, Enter your PIN." Safe enough to dispense cash in the middle of the night? Safe enough to authenticate the online banking customer. Works for online shopping too. Replicates the exact same experience consumers have used at brick and mortar locations for decades. Swipe their card in a point of sale terminal. (and enter PIN if applicable)

Meanwhile, the online shopper and the Online Banking customer's data NEVER enters the browser...data is encrypted "inside the box" and the encrypted data is sent using the Internet as a conduit.

Associated Bank's OOBA Provides Greater Protection from Online Threats

Associated is one of the first banks in the country to offer phone-based authentication to its business banking customers

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Associated Bank has introduced a new service that will provide its business banking customers with additional protection from fraudulent attacks against live online banking sessions. OOBA, which stands for out-of-band authentication, has been touted as a better solution to combat advanced types of fraud.

As the frequency and sophistication of attacks targeting online banking continue to increase, out-of-band authentication is becoming more widely recognized as a best practice for securing online banking sessions. The use of real-time Web services may make it possible for fraudsters to get around some of the roadblocks that companies and their banks have put in their way. Associated Bank's OOBA verifies the identity of the user by calling them on their landline or mobile phone and requiring the user to enter another personal identification number into their phone.

"In today's environment every customer has to be security conscious," said Associated Senior Vice President and Director of Treasury Management Todd Adler. "We are pleased to offer a leading-edge solution that helps protect our business customers and their accounts. This convenient automated solution utilizes technology that our customers have in place and are comfortable using. OOBA means greater protection and quicker detection if someone attempts to compromise our customers' systems."

Associated Bank is part of Associated Banc-Corp (NASDAQ: ASBC), headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., a diversified bank holding company with total assets of $23 billion. Associated has approximately 300 banking offices serving an estimated 160 communities in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The company offers a full range of traditional banking services and a variety of other financial products and services. More information about Associated Banc-Corp and OOBA is available at www.AssociatedBank.com.

Deposit products are offered by Associated Bank, N.A., Member FDIC.

Source: Associated Bank

Contact: Associated Bank Janet L. Ford Senior Vice President Public Relations Director

414-278-1890

PHONE

414-704-1211

CELL janet.ford@associatedbank.com