This paper examines how recent trends in Internet trust marks can restore online shopping confidence, get more people to shop, and as concluded by at least one recent study, even help induce those who do shop to spend more money. Having the right level of Web site security in place is not enough to turn the tide. Online merchants need to advertise their investment in security and their commitment to shopper safety. As proven time and again, trust marks are one of the best ways of doing so.
white paper
Internet Trust Marks:
Building Confidence and Profit Onlinewhite paper
Contents + Introduction 3
+ Why trust marks? 3
+ What trust marks prove 4
+ Recognition-the true power of a trust mark 4
+ Leveraging trust marks to drive competitiveness, revenue, and profits 5
+ Trust marks evolving to new levels- green address bar means "go" 6
+ Conclusion 7
+ Learn More 7
+ About VeriSign 7white paper
Internet Trust Marks:
Displaying a trust mark Building Confidence and Profit Online
A trust mark is a form of advertising that informs online + Introduction shoppers that your site has You might not know it judging from the last few Cyber Mondays-those blitzes of online been authenticated by a trusted shopping ushering in the December holidays-but many Internet merchants are leaving third party and that they can significant dollars on the table. And they are doing so every single day of the year. shop with confidence. And like all display advertising, it has The fear of fraud, spoofing, phishing, identity theft, and lax Web site security still have to be seen in order to work. a sizeable percentage of consumers wary of using credit cards online. In a Forrester Hence a trust mark needs to be Research, Inc. survey conducted in December 2005, 24 percent of respondents said that visible on every page where a security concerns had caused them to discontinue shopping online, while a full 61% shopper even thinks of initiating 1a transaction. The home page of respondents had at least cut back their online commerce due to security concerns. is a given. But the mark should Likewise, Unisys Corporation's Trusted Shopping Index (TEI) indicates that these fears 2also be placed on every page may be keeping as many as 50 percent of consumers from using credit cards online. where there is a Buy button or Clearly, widespread consumer confidence is simply not there, and it's equally clear that customer login is required to consumers consider it the responsibility of online businesses to alleviate their security strengthen shopper conviction. concerns; the same Forrester survey shows that a staggering 84 percent of shoppers do not And it should figure prominently believe that online retailers are doing enough to keep them safe. on the Checkout page, to combat shopper anxiety and This paper examines how recent trends in Internet trust marks can restore online shopping help protect shopping carts confidence, get more people to shop, and as concluded by at least one recent study, from last-minute abandonment. even help induce those who do shop to spend more money. Having the right level of Web site security in place is not enough to turn the tide. Online merchants need to advertise their investment in security and their commitment to shopper safety. As proven time and again, trust marks are one of the best ways of doing so.
+ Why trust marks? Trust marks have a long history in the online world, but their use has really taken off since the middle of this decade. VeriSign's original mark was among the first. Like a Board of Health placard in a restaurant window, a trust mark on a Web site immediately telegraphs important information about the business and its practices, enabling shoppers to decide whether it's safe to buy or not. In the brick and mortar world, shoppers can easily look for clues regarding the trustworthiness of a store or restaurant, from employee demeanor to dirt in the corner. But in the online world, it is much harder to know for sure whether a site is trustworthy. It is all too easy to fake an online storefront-it is done all the time, and very convincingly, with the express intent of capturing unwary individuals' personal information and credit card numbers. A trust mark posted on the site, on the other hand, tells would-be shoppers that a creditable third party such as VeriSign has judged certain aspects of the business and found the site to be trustworthy in regard to those aspects.
1 Internet Retailer, March 2006, "Hand-Holding, Fraud-Weary Consumers Look for the Seal of Approval." 2 Internet Retailer, April 12, 2007, "Fraud Fears Prevent Half of Consumers from Shopping Online with Bank Cards."
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+ What trust marks prove You can be a large and well-known retailer or service provider. You can invest in world-class security and... [download for more]
