Black Friday 2011 Results

Monday, November 28, 2011

goodnews

It's 'official'- the start of the holiday shopping season is off to a great start.  According to the National Retail Federation, "Americans shrugged off economic gloom to post record Thanksgiving weekend sales of $52.4 billion, as shoppers prepared for "Cyber Monday" online deals. Sales over the long holiday weekend were up 16 percent compared to last year, marking the biggest dollar amount ever spent over the Black Friday period, the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, the NRF said."

At TMC, we can confirm a higher number of calls as well as increased processing volume over this same time last year.  It's all good!  The increased processing volume also comes with a bit of a warning, so we are working diligently to encourage our merchants to keep security and fraud prevention 'Top of Mind' now and all throughout the year.  Check out the following tips and use them to protect your business as you enjoy increased processing activity!

CARD PRESENT MERCHANTS

  • Do Not Accept Unsigned Cards
  • Clearly Mark Refunds/Return Policies
  • Handle All Customer Challenges Immediately
  • Keep All Signed Receipts For 18 Months

CARD NOT PRESENT MERCHANTS 

  • Use All Fraud Prevention Tools
    AVS (Address Verification)
    CVV (3 Digit Code)
    Delivery Confirmation
  • Clearly List Refunds/Return Policies
  • Handle All Customer Challenges Immediately

We are excited to see the increase in processing for our merchants and also encouraged by the National Retail Federations report on Black Friday!  Taking the proper steps to insulate our businesses against ever growing fraud and security concerns is just one more way to keep the good news coming!  

 

Cheri Perry 11/28/2011