As retailers prepare for back-to-school season, many are anticipating an influx of customers in-person and online. However, with the rise of customers shopping across social media platforms and due to the ongoing labor shortage, businesses may be even more vulnerable to data breaches. According to an upcoming survey from PCI Pal®, the global cloud provider of secure payment solutions for business communications, fewer than 7% of respondents feel very confident about their data security when buying a product or service over social media.

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“When reviewing their data practices, companies should remember to also take social media into consideration, to ensure that their customers’ sensitive information is safe, regardless of where they’re shopping.”

With the social commerce market projected to reach a size of nearly $605 Billion by 2027, many companies are using platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to reach new customers and grow their sales. Yet as companies integrate social media into their business strategies, they should also be updating and sharing new data privacy practices with their customers to build trust and ensure that they feel safe and secure. As the recent data breach of 700 million users on LinkedIn shows, social media can still leave consumers’ personal information exposed. A 2020 survey from PCI Pal revealed that 70% of respondents would stop shopping with a brand for a few months or even permanently if it suffered a data breach ahead of the holidays, demonstrating how important it is for companies to prepare for busy shopping seasons from both a business and privacy standpoint.

“As retailers get ready for the back-to-school shopping season, the last thing they need to happen is a data breach that exposes their customers’ data, potentially jeopardizing their safety and damaging trust,” said Geoff Forsyth, CISO, PCI Pal. “When reviewing their data practices, companies should remember to also take social media into consideration, to ensure that their customers’ sensitive information is safe, regardless of where they’re shopping.”

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