Every other nation, whether developing or developed, is witnessing the popularity of online shopping. Along with several other industries, the retail industry has also benefited tremendously with the advent of the globally accessible network, the Internet. Today, E-commerce has become a vital part of the retail business. In the year 2019, retail sales on the digital platform easily crossed 3.5 trillion worth U.S dollars worldwide. Moreover, due to the digitization of every little thing, the customers have also welcomed the transformation of the retail industry with open arms.

With the continuous rise in the adoption of internet services, digital buyers have risen and are rising exponentially. As many as 1.92 billion people purchased items from different e-commerce sites just in 2019. Post outbreak of the highly infectious virus, covid-19, the growth in e-retail accelerated even further. The life-taking virus restricted the humans to their homes to curb the spread. All the retail stores, chains, and malls have suffered huge loss during the lockdown. People were too scared to step out for not so urgent needs. As a result of which, businesses are shifted to digital platforms. With the help of technology, people are being able to buy several products and services without physically going to a store or a mall. They get a complete experience even after staying in the comfort of their homes. Plus, the businesses are also enjoying this model as the perks of e-sales not only increase the number of potential customers drastically but also require minimal investments. Right! It’s a win-win situation for both customers and businesses.

However, it is not as easy as it sounds! Here the case is a little different as the problem lies in the security of customers and the owners, and not in the technicalities. Identity theft and issues with fraudulent transactions is at the peak on online shopping portals. Identity theft occurs when someone fraudulently gains access to your personal information like real name, identity, address, credit numbers, or other valuable information and uses the same in committing frauds, transferring funds to themselves, and likewise. E-commerce sites are naturally prone to the risks of identity theft frauds because there is no actual meeting between the buyer and the seller. Therefore, one never really knows if the customers are who they claim to be. Today when every small to big purchase is being executed on the digital platforms, it becomes extremely important for e-commerce sites to know about their customers and thereby prevent the risks of id theft. The root of the problem lies in the weak sign-up formalities. Bad guys easily hack into legitimate accounts and place orders with the help of stolen id and credit card information. The growth in technology has helped the bad guys get more sophisticated with their tactics and methods, which is a serious threat for both the customers as well as the businesses. 

To mitigate the risk of identity theft to the very core, incorporating identity verification solution to verify customers before letting them during the sign up process should be mandatory. A full-proof identity solution just like AZYO can easily help in ensuring the legitimacy of the customers.