As Capital Choice Office Furniture prepares for ecommerce, we wanted to share what the news and studies have revealed about our ecommerce decision.

What is surprising is that the list of major retailers that have been hacked (offline) keeps growing. But while tens of millions of people have seen their credit card numbers fall into the hands of hackers, online shoppers at those stores appear safe.

In recent breaches at Target, Neiman Marcus and, most recently, Home Depot, the retailers said online customers were not affected. The hacks raise a curious question at a time when danger seems to lurk on every corner of the Internet: Is it actually safer to shop online than in person?

In general, big box retailers don’t make the same commitment to security as online retailers. Overhauling their entire system and taking extra security precautions is an expensive and time-consuming proposition, and so they neglect to take extra measures. This stands in contrast to online retailers, who are built from the ground-up with strict security in mind, because just one hack could destroy their business.

Online retailers also have a greater array of security tools at their disposal — tools that were created for the world we live in today, not the world of a decade ago. Square, for example, encrypts card data on the device. Stripe encrypts all card numbers on a disk with AES-256, and stores decryption keys on separate machines. PayPal’s security key offers a second authentication factor when you are logging in to your account. Online transactions from any reputable vendor are also protected by SSL certificates (to protect data in transit), firewalls, and regular systems scans. Furthermore, consumers are empowered to add extra security layers to online transactions. They can create strong passwords, sign up for identify theft protection services, and keep their anti-virus software up-to-date.

For all the reasons outlined above, online transactions can be more secure than offline transactions. Now let’s consider how that shift will affect the ecommerce industry as a whole.  The following seven questions were asked of U.S. shoppers:

     1.)  Do you choose online shopping for convenience?
          — 96% of respondents said yes, they shop online for convenience
     2.)  Do you choose online shopping for price?
          — 80% of respondents said they choose to online shop for the price
             difference
     3.)  Do you choose online shopping for the ability to research your buying
          decision?
         — 91% of consumers use online shopping for research purposes
     4.)  Do you choose online shopping because products offered online can’t
          be purchased locally?
          — 77% of online consumers want to buy products online they cannot
             find locally
     5.)  Is online shopping easier than shopping at a physical store?
          — 89% of respondents feel shopping online is easier than in-person
             shopping
6.)  Do you plan to spend the less time shopping online as you do in
          person at the store?
          — 78% said no, they will spend more time shopping online
     7.)  Do you feel you get a better deal online compared to purchases at a
          retail store?

          — 71% of consumers feel shopping online gives them a better deal