As millions of consumers worldwide took advantage of deals offered between November 28 (US Thanksgiving) and December 2 (Cyber Monday) – a time broadly known as ‘Black Friday’ across Africa – a new analysis from TransUnion studied retail digital fraud during that period.
The analysis determined that retail suspected Digital Fraud rates during that time increased year-over-year (YoY) for attempted transactions where the consumer was in Botswana and Namibia, but decreased in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa and Zambia.
The analysis reviewed attempted ecommerce transactions from across the globe and found that 4.6 per cent worldwide were suspected to be Digital Fraud over the same period.
Based on proprietary insights from TransUnion’s global intelligence network, TransUnion found that the global suspected Digital Fraud rate was down from 6.0 per cent during the same period in 2023.
The study determined that the average volume of suspected Digital Fraud attempts on any given day during that holiday period globally was 30.2 per cent lower than the same period in 2023 and 5.9 per cent lower than during the rest of the year (January 1, 2024 to November 27, 2024).
“Across Africa, we have observed that Black Friday shopping has extended beyond the original five-day period, with retailers promoting sales throughout the entire month of November.
We anticipate that the general lengthening of the holiday shopping season were factors in the decline in suspected Digital Fraud during the time under analysis compared to the rest of the year for most Africa countries,” said Amritha Reddy, senior director for solutions at TransUnion Africa.
“For online retailers, this speaks to the need to maintain diligence year-round. For the remainder of this holiday shopping season, and beyond, online retailers must continue to implement tools that maintain a friction-right experience, wherein both business and consumer is protected without major disruption,” Reddy added.
The greatest fraud disruptions globally over the analysed period occurred on Thursday, November 28 with 5.3 per cent of all attempted digital retail transactions on that day suspected to be Digital Fraud.
The analysis also revealed the retail suspected Digital Fraud rate for each day in the analysed shopping period for attempted transactions where the consumer was in each of the six African countries studied, and highlighted the day on which the most suspected Digital Fraud took place.
As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top signals indicating risk of fraudulent e-commerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally.
This year, unusually high transaction volume from a single device and devices being newly associated with an account were among the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.
“This international shopping period is always hugely impactful to retailers’ bottom lines, and our recent Consumer Pulse Study that consumers may be particularly eager to buy during this holiday shopping season,” said Reddy.
The analysis also revealed the retail suspected Digital Fraud rate for each day in the analysed shopping period for attempted transactions where the consumer was in each of the six African countries studied, and highlighted the day on which the most suspected Digital Fraud took place.
As part of this analysis, TransUnion also determined the top signals indicating risk of fraudulent e-commerce transactions during the holiday shopping season globally.
This year, unusually high transaction volume from a single device and devices being newly associated with an account were among the leading indicators for potential fraud attempts.
“This international shopping period is always hugely impactful to retailers’ bottom lines, and our recent Consumer Pulse Study that consumers may be particularly eager to buy during this holiday shopping season,” said Reddy.
“It’s as important as ever for retailers to equip themselves with the tools they need to detect fraud early.
These tools can help minimise fraudulent transactions while at the same time protecting legitimate transactions.
“Retailers should seek to implement holistic fraud solutions that can verify customer identity and authenticity as early as possible during a transaction,” Reddy said.
