Global eCommerce Retail Sales Up 209 Percent in April, ACI Worldwide Research Reveals

The COVID-19 crisis continued to drive global eCommerce sales in April, with the general retail sector experiencing 209 percent growth compared to the same period last year, according to an analysis by ACI Worldwide of hundreds of millions of eCommerce transactions from global online retailers. Following general retail, the gaming segment saw the biggest bump, up 126 percent in April.

The sustained increase in eCommerce transaction volume reflects a full month of wide-ranging restrictions on in-store retail activity and other COVID-19-related measures, evidenced by average transaction volume growth of 23.5 percent in April versus the same period last year. By comparison, there was a 5.3 percent increase in March 2020, when lockdowns first came into effect.

“Trends in eCommerce purchasing behaviors that we began to see in March have continued in April, as hundreds of millions of consumers around the world adapt to the restrictions put in place to inhibit the spread of the coronavirus,” said Debbie Guerra, executive vice president, ACI Worldwide. “Consumers are increasingly making use of click-and-collect options because of convenience and safety—but these changing patterns also attract fraudsters, resulting in a significant uptick in attempted fraud.”

Fraud attempt rates reached 4.3 percent in April, slightly down from 5.3 percent in March, but still up from 3.8 percent compared to this time last year. Attempted fraud is focused on segments that have seen high sales growth, such as consumer electronics, with the average ticket price of attempted fraud up $26. Click-and-collect—or buy online, pick up in store—also accounted for a rise in attempted fraud. The transactional value of attempted fraud rose by 9.9 percent, reflecting fraudsters’ continued emphasis on popular high-value items including laptops and TVs.

“Fraudsters continue to use the disruption to the status quo to target unsuspecting consumers and unprepared businesses,” continued Guerra. “While vigilance is paramount, merchants also need to ensure that they are scrutinizing their fraud strategies to quickly adapt to a highly dynamic new retail environment.”