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NewsBriefs

Alibaba, and WeChat Pay, the payments ecosystem that supports the country's ery intermediaries, rising customer
WeChat messaging and social media platform. Phase One of the U.S.-China expectations of speed and the trend
trade agreement, signed with much fanfare on Jan. 14, 2020, specifically towards warehouse automation all
mentions the three leading U.S. card brands in stating the Chinese government mean that suppliers must prioritize
will expedite applications for banks and payment networks to operate on the creation of flexible supply chains
mainland China. to enable on- demand service to on-
demand retailers that serve on-de-
"No later than one month after a U.S. service supplier notifies China that it mand customers."
has completed its preparatory work, China shall accept the license application
of such U.S. supplier, including any license application of Mastercard, Visa, Retailers can no longer count on con-
or American Express, and shall make a determination with respect to the sumer brands to help them move
application, including an explanation of any adverse determination," the products off their shelves, Ascential
agreement reads in part. researchers noted. Direct to con-
sumer models (D2C) are disrupt-
ing the traditional retail value chain
D2C models threaten retailers by bypassing merchants entirely.
Separate research studies published Jan. 22, 2020, by Ascential plc and These disruptive models enrich re-
Bluecore found consumer brands more adept than merchants at converting lationships between consumers and
customer data into actionable, personalized campaigns. Ascential's Future brands, they stated. As these D2C
Retail Disruption report found real-time data derived from digital channels and models take hold, researchers predict
advanced analytics is fueling an agile retail marketplace. Retailers need to be that 75 percent of D2C suppliers will
faster and more flexible to meet consumer expectations, according to the study. operate a D2C platform by 2030.
Security scams catch more fish
"As retailers fight for customer loyalty, speed and flexibility in fulfillment are
emerging as major competitive battlefields, requiring support from brands," In an ironic twist, recent studies
Ascential researchers wrote. "New fulfillment methods, the expansion of deliv- found fake security alerts generate
more attacks than all other phishing
categories. KnowBe4's Q4: 2019 top-
clicked phishing report, published Jan.
15, 2020, found security-related sub-
ject lines are just as beguiling to con-
sumers as giveaway offers. Addition-
al insights by Retruster Inc. indicated
that 90 percent of all data breaches
stem from email phishing attacks.

Researchers found 39 percent of sur-
vey respondents clicked on messages
to check a password immediately.
Top-clicked social media attacks
were found in messaging apps on
LinkedIn (55 percent) and Facebook
(28 percent). Social media messaging
apps are frequently exploited due to
their familiar, legitimate appearance,
the study found.

Stu Sjouwerman is CEO at KnowBe4,
a security awareness company that
simulates phishing attacks on its tech-
nology platform to improve threat in-
telligence. Noting that criminals are
exploiting public sector awareness
and fear of cybercrime, Sjouwerman
warned consumers to be suspicious
of emails that appear to be too good
to be true.

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