ACI: Global online sales up 81% in May amid spending shift; fraud attempts down

Consumers are starting to increase their online spending across traditional retail categories. 

Global e-commerce sales continued to show strong growth in May, with certain sectors experiencing triple-digit year-on-year growth, according to an analysis by ACI Worldwide of hundreds of millions of online transactions from global merchants. Overall retail transaction growth of 81% in May (compared to the year-ago period), was primarily driven by sportswear and sporting goods (up 216%), retail-specific to housewares and do-it-yourself supplies (up 190%), and gaming (up 84%).

“While many of the trends in e-commerce purchasing behavior that emerged in March and April have continued, we are starting to see the impact that the gradual easing of restrictions is having on retail activity,” said Debbie Guerra, executive VP, ACI Worldwide. “People working from home are now set up, and we see spending shifting from home office supplies back toward consumer goods like sporting goods and home improvements.”

Fraud attempt rates for May were at 3.4%, down from 5.3% and 4.4% in March and April, respectively. Not only did fraud rate by value decrease in May, it was also the first time this year that fraud decreased on a year-on-year basis (3.8% in May 2019). 

However, the average ticket price of attempted fraud increased by $18, driven by electronics and retail goods. Meanwhile, non-fraudulent chargebacks have increased 25% overall, with airline and ticketing sectors particularly impacted. 

Key findings from ACI include:
• E-commerce transactional volume increased 23% in May 2020, compared to May 2019 (slightly lower than the 23.5% year-over-year increase in April) with a mixed picture across sectors.

•    Sectors experiencing significant growth in May (compared to May 2019) included: gaming: +84% (+126% in April), general retail: +190.2% (+209% in April), jewelry: +190.8% (+136.9% in April), sportswear and sporting goods: +216.3% (+114% in April) and electronics: +32.2% (+55.5% in April).

•    Home office items (including monitors, headsets, webcams and Internet connectivity devices) accounted for 10% of all electronics purchases in May, down from a high of 15% in March and 14% in April.

•    Average ticket price of attempted fraud increased by $18 year-over-year, while genuine purchase average ticket price decreased by $24.