The Effects of Online Credit Card Declines in the U.S.

| Tim Parry

An independent study of 1k consumers found that 17 percent of consumers report having had their credit cards declined during card not present (CNP) transactions and as many as one-third of these declines were unnecessary. The result is consumer aggravation, increased operational costs for banks and credit card companies and as much as $40 billion in lost revenue for online retailers. 41st Parameter, a part of Experian, released the data from its TrustInsight division.

Overstock.com Surpasses $1 Million in Bitcoin Transactions

| MCM Staff

Overstock.com announced that it has sold over $1 million in product to Bitcoin users since the online shopping site started accepting the cryptocurrency on Jan 9. According to Overstock.com, of the over 4,300 Bitcoin customers that made purchases with the site since January, almost 60% are new customers.

Target, Target Canada, ecommerce, store closings, Canadian retail market, Zellers

Target CIO Resigns after Holiday Security Breach

| Erin Lynch

Target has announced that Beth Jacob, chief information officer, is resigning from her position as part of an “overhaul” of the retailer’s information security and compliance structure. Jacob’s resignation is effective March 5.

Target, Target Canada, ecommerce, store closings, Canadian retail market, Zellers

Data Breach Affects Target’s 4Q U.S. Sales

| Tim Parry

What did the major data breach at Target mean for the merchant’s bottom line? It meant fewer consumers shopping at the mass merchant, as well as a $17 million net expense related to the data breach investigation. Target announced Wednesday that sales for its U.S. segment in the fourth-quarter decreased 6.6%.