Shopping

Visa has released the findings of a new survey that show how AI and digital tools are beginning to have an impact on holiday spending habits across the United States. The company says that it is seeing clear differences across generations, with younger consumers moving towards AI assisted shopping, digital currencies and other emerging payment trends.

"The data tells a fascinating story about the spending shift we're witnessing: shoppers are embracing AI and digital tools at remarkable speed, with nearly half of Americans now using AI to enhance their shopping experience," said Bruce Cundiff, vice president, Consumer Insights at Visa.

Newegg, in conjunction with PayPal, is bringing its product listings into AI powered shopping channels, starting with Perplexity. Customers will be able to discover and buy Newegg items from inside conversational search tools that use PayPal’s agentic commerce technology.

The retail giant says the move is in response to growing numbers of people searching for products using AI chat tools rather than performing traditional web searches. Instead of browsing categories or clicking through a store, customers will be able to ask an AI agent for help finding a specific product and be shown Newegg listings in the response.

Experts from NordVPN are warning about a rise in ‘invisible’ attacks that can steal payment details on legitimate eCommerce sites.

Known as e-skimming this involves malicious JavaScript code being injected into legitimate eCommerce sites to steal customers’ payment data during checkout. This is the online equivalent of physical skimming devices found on ATMs or gas pumps.

As we approach Black Friday and the annual frenzy of online shopping a new report uncovers widespread vulnerabilities in major retail platforms as agentic commerce takes hold.

The research from fraud prevention specialist Data Dome shows that threat actors are exploiting the same automation paths used by consumers to automate browsing, comparison and checkout in order to scale account fraud with an army of fake shoppers.

New research from the Zimperium zLabs team reveals a sharp rise in mobile threats tied to the holiday shopping season.

The report shows that mishing (mobile phishing) remains the most widespread and effective mobile attack vector. Smishing messages and fake delivery alerts impersonating trusted retail and logistics brands surged up to fourfold during the 2024 holiday shopping period, with attackers using urgency-driven messages like ‘Your package is delayed, click here’ to trick users into revealing credentials or downloading malicious apps.

As we approach the busiest time of the year for online shopping, scammers and phisherfolk are also preparing for a seasonal bonanza. 1Password has surveyed 2,000 American adults to learn how people are protecting themselves -- or not -- from phishing scams.

It finds that 66 percent of respondents say they’ve noticed more 'scammy' messages, phone calls, and ads since AI became more prevalent. In addition 82 percent of respondents have been phished, or have come dangerously close to it.

For anyone who makes a lot of purchases from Amazon, a Prime subscription makes a lot of sense. And for young adults, the deal just got a whole lot sweeter.

Ahead of Prime Day 2025, Amazon has launched a new Amazon Prime subscription tier which is incredible value for anyone who is of the right age. Specifically for people aged between 18 and 24, the new Prime for Young Adults includes everything that is found in a regular subscription, but it is a fraction of the cost.

New research from Imperva shows that 71 percent of UK consumers believe bad bots are ruining Christmas by snapping up all the most wanted presents.

It finds that 40 percent of consumers surveyed say they have been thwarted when trying to buy a gift in the past, only to find that it was completely sold out.

In recent years the concept of Black Friday has spread beyond the US thanks to the web, such that millions around the world now go online at this time of year in search of bargains. But are the deals on offer really all they seem?

A new report from Smartproxy suggests that they might not be. It highlights the tactics some sites use to create the illusion of savings. Many increase the baseline prices of products in the weeks before Black Friday. So by the time the 'discounts' hit, they're often just bringing prices back to normal.

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas bring millions of shoppers online with attractive discounts and limited time offers, but of course they also create ideal conditions for cybercriminals to exploit unwary bargain hunters.

A new report from Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs looks at the evolving threat surface of eCommerce, highlighting how cybercriminals are leveraging Remote Code Execution (RCE) exploits, Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) phishing kits, sniffers, and website cloning services to manipulate online transactions and gain access to steal sensitive data.

A new survey from Norton shows that 60 percent of UK holiday shoppers say they are swayed by good holiday deals and nearly two-thirds (61 percent) give away their personal information to receive a discount when shopping.

The study reveals that 70 percent of Brits have tried to secure discount codes, through means like signing up to a website's mailing list or answering a survey. 61 percent of those who tried to secure discounts admit to divulging their personal information to do so.

As we enter the busiest period of the year for retail sales, there's less than cheery news that scraping, loyalty card fraud and payment card fraud have increased by a collective average of over 700 percent as attackers lay the groundwork for holiday sale attacks ahead of retailer security crackdowns.

A new report from Cequence Security finds threat actors are evolving their tactics, opting for a more nuanced approach that spreads attacks across a broader timeframe to blend in with legitimate traffic and evade detection ahead of peak holiday shopping times.

Continuing its expansions in to shopping and eCommerce, Meta has announced WhatsApp Flows. The new feature allows businesses to give customers the chance to do things like book tickets and order items from within a chat.

Flows can be customized by merchants to meet the specific needs of a business, creating workflow-like purchasing experiences for customers. Launching globally over the coming weeks, WhatsApp has been testing Flows with partners in Brazil and India.

A new survey of 6,000 online shoppers in the US and EU finds that many websites are causing problems for eCommerce companies due to poor design.

The study from Storyblok shows that 42 percent say they decide whether to stay on or leave a website within 10 seconds -- 20 percent within five seconds -- while 60 percent have abandons a purchase because of poor website experience.

The economy may be in the toilet right now, but just because inflation is at an all-time high, that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy gifts this year. In fact, with many financial experts predicting a painful 2023, we might as well take advantage of all the great 2022 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, right?

This year, there are many impressive discounts on technology-related purchases such as computer peripherals, devices and electronics. Below, we are sharing some of the best deals. While many of the sales will not start until Friday, some are live already. We will be continually adding deals to this list, so keep checking back!