Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Blackhawk Network’s Paying for Things and Giving Gifts During a Crisis report is based on a March 31, 2020, survey of 1,067 consumers conducted by SurveyMonkey. Researchers found year-over-year growth in e-gift sales (44 percent) and ecommerce sales (43 percent). Gift card ecommerce sales were also up 54 percent year-over-year across Blackhawk’s partner channels.
Blackhawk Network CEO Talbott Roche observed that charity and kindness are top consumer trends and more appealing as gifts for upcoming holidays such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations and weddings. “As the world grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, consumers are adapting the ways they shop and give,” Roche said. “We are examining these consumer trends and comparing them to our own card sales to provide ongoing insights into how the crisis will impact payments and retail.”
Consumers across all demographic groups are leveraging digital platforms, according to the Facteus Insight Report on Consumer Spending and Transactions (FIRST), a weekly report series that measures consumer behaviors and economic trends derived from the company’s anonymized financial transaction data. New reports show a sharp uptick in discount clubs and wholesale stores, which had previously taken a hit. Facteus researchers suggested the sudden resurgence may be attributable to the “first tranche of stimulus checks” showing up in the data.
“We understand the economic landscape is very fluid right now, and we will be regularly sharing more insights in the coming weeks as it relates to the impacts on consumer spending,” said Randy Koch, CEO at Facteus. “Our intent is to help businesses, governments and economists have a current, accurate view of the COVID-19 data, so that they can make informed and timely decisions.”
Steve Shaw, senior vice president, marketing at Facteus, said the report data reveals new online users are jumping into the fray, including baby boomers and the silent generation. “As companies look for ways to get through the global pandemic, sound data can help them make actionable decisions based on their customers’ buying preferences and spending habits,” he said.
Additional information about the FIRST reports is available at www.first.facteus.com .
Unfortunately, cybercriminals are also capitalizing on the sharp increase in e-gifting by exploiting known and unknown vulnerabilities in digital ecommerce and mobile app platforms. Mark Gazit, CEO at ThetaRay, pointed out that implementing advanced artificial intelligence solutions can help organizations detect anomalous behavior at scale.
“Artificial intuition involves machines that can mimic human intuition and gut-feelings,” Gazit said. “It makes decisions not by looking at data points alone, but by looking at all the hidden relationships between the data points. Because it is not reliant on rules or parameters, artificial intuition is able to detect sophisticated, unknown fraud and money laundering schemes hidden within thousands and thousands of seemingly innocent transactions. No other solution has this capacity.”
As history has shown, the COVID-19 situation will lead to increased crime, Gazit stated. Some people who have lost their jobs will turn to crime. Hardened criminals will steal identities as bank employees work from home, leaving banking systems open and vulnerable.
“Under normal circumstances, the banks could simply ask customers to bring their driver’s license, passport or other ID document to the local branch, but that’s not currently an option,” Gazit said, adding that banks can quickly and easily implement AI-powered anti-money laundering solutions "to gain full visibility to all cross-border correspondent banking transactions.” 
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