Security fears curb online spending

Two thirds of Britons think that buying goods online puts them at more risk of falling victim to fraud, according to a new study.

The report, commissioned by Symantec, lays the blame for this squarely at the door of online businesses, who are not giving customers the "confidence boost" they so desperately need.

The survey found that the average online spend for consumers is around £100 a month and while 45 per cent said they had no plans to increase this amount, 77 per cent said that they would feel more inclined to spend greater amounts online if businesses could give them certain guarantees.

“Consumers are desperate for a confidence boost from the businesses that they are transacting with online,” said Lee Sharrocks of Symantec. “Customers are curtailing their spending because of fears about security.”

Thirty per cent of respondents said that they expected the businesses themselves to keep the transactional data secure, while only nine per cent thought this should be the bank's responsibility.

“Banks have traditionally been held responsible for compensating fraudulent transactions,” said Richard Archdeacon of Symantec.

“These results suggest that consumers want the businesses they are dealing with to take responsibility for securing their private details," Archdeacon continued.

The findings of the survey would seem to contradict a recent survey by price comparison site uSwitch.com that predicted £40 billion would be spent online by Britons this year.

The survey was carried out in January 2007 by YouGov, who questioned 2,591 consumers.

http://www.symantec.com/

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