5 Trends to Impact Ecommerce In 2025

By Christophe Van de Weyer, Chief Executive Officer, Telesign

Building strong and trusted relationships with consumers has always mattered. More than 60% of people say trust is a key factor when choosing to engage with a business. Trust is also vital to customer loyalty, with 61% of consumers prioritizing trust above all other factors in company interactions.

What’s new for 2025 is an increased awareness that trust and protection go hand in hand, with more companies seeking to cultivate trust and protection as foundational to their ability to maintain competitive advantage. Indeed, the vast majority of consumers believe that the companies they engage with are responsible for protecting them online—and more than 38% are willing to sever ties with brands that break this trust.

In 2025, more online retailers will weave safety and security into their core promises to customers. They’ll focus on creating smooth and secure shopping experiences that actively build stronger and more trusting relationships throughout the entire customer journey. They are also shifting their cybersecurity investments to enhance data protection and trust.

Globally, 28% of people have been victimized by fraud in the past three years, with 60% of victims reporting the fraud occurred within the last six months. Fraudsters are increasingly deploying sophisticated AI tools to conduct more frequent and complex attacks. In fact, AI-driven fraud now constitutes more than 40% of all detected fraud attempts in the financial and payments sector.

The challenge of protecting against AI-generated fraud is becoming more difficult. Nearly 40% of U.S. IT professionals view AI-enhanced attacks as their primary concern for 2025. More than half of C-suite executives anticipate a rise in the frequency and scale of deepfake attacks in 2025. All of this is expected to further erode people’s confidence and trust in the digital environment.

The leveraging of AI to detect and prevent fraud effectively will continue to accelerate as will a focus on the human element in the fight against fraud. Digital identity verification will be built into the entire customer journey by adding appropriate friction when required based on AI-based risk assessment. Attention will also be paid to education and internal controls to build more security-conscious workforces and cultures.

The cost of global cybercrime is projected to rise from $9.22 trillion in 2024 to $13.82 trillion by 2028. The average data breach now costs organizations $4.88 million—a 10% increase from 2023. Breach-related class-action lawsuits are projected to become even more expensive than regulatory fines, exceeding them by 50%. Governments are also expected to increase regulatory pressure to combat fraud.

CEOs and boards are increasing their focus and shifting their views of cybersecurity from risk mitigation to value creation. More chief information security officers (CISOs) are now reporting directly to the CEO, signaling the role’s influence and movement to the center of the business. Privacy by design will also remain crucial, especially in regulated sectors. The expected outcome is the need for companies to ensure effective fraud protection while also adhering to privacy regulations.

Over the past five years, fraud has hit roughly 77 million individuals with nearly half of all fraud victims reporting their fraud incident as life-altering or very impactful. Scammers have stolen a $1 trillion from victims in the last 12 months, up from $159 billion lost last year, with an average $3K+ loss per scam victim in the U.S.

The impact of fraud is vast and reaches far beyond financial consequences. Globally, 34% of victims report mental or physical health repercussions, including anxiety, depression and stress. These negative experiences dramatically affect digital behavior. Following fraud incidents, 56% decreased their ecommerce activities, among other proactive steps to prevent future fraud.

More people, too, are prioritizing fraud protection in where and how they engage online. Studies show that eight in 10 people now welcome added security levels to keep their digital assets safe. Demands for more transparency around protections and privacy opens new opportunities for ecommerce organizations for how they communicate their commitments to their customers.

As more consumers are focused on keeping their data safe, savvy ecommerce businesses know that fraudsters will prey on their vulnerabilities at every sign-up, sign-in, and interaction.

With most companies are reporting at least one identity-related breach annually, identity risk is one of the biggest threats facing businesses and consumers in 2025.

The risk will continue to grow, fueled by generative AI fraud techniques, insufficient credential controls, a lack of multifactor authentication (MFA) and human failure. In fact, while 90% of organizations believe MFA to be an effective identity-security tool, only 5% said it covers every employee and app.

There is no one solution to address the complex challenge of protecting digital identities. In 2025, online retailers will increasingly explore innovative use cases and verification types to address the challenge and changing nature of digital identity security. For example, the shift from single-password security to context-based authentication will intensify, offering more seamless access control without cumbersome security questions for routine inquiries.

2025 offers an opportunity to build stronger, more resilient relationships with customers who increasingly view trust as the currency of digital commerce. The key to success will be the ability to implement new approaches and technologies in a thoughtful way, thereby creating seamless and secure shopping experiences that resonate with consumers and protect them at every stage in their journey. Companies that get the balance right will set themselves apart in the year ahead.