Target Credit Card Breach Deters Shoppers at Retailer in Early 2014
Shoppers are wary of Target, new retail data shows, after the retailer suffered from one of the largest credit card security breaches in history last year.
According to data from consulting group Kantar Retail, 33 percent of U.S. households shopped at Target either in-store or online during January 2014. The rate represents a drop from January 2013, when 43 percent of U.S. households shopped at Target. Kantar Retail ranks Target at No. 10 on its list of top 50 retailers in the United States.
The Kantar Retail data also reveals that visits to Target by Gen X shoppers between the ages of 39 and 49 and those who shop less frequently dropped during the first month of the year. Gen X shoppers fell to 38 percent from 53 percent in 2013, while fringe shoppers dropped 30 percentage points.
All signs point to Target suffering major public backlash after news leaked out in December that 110 million credit cards were stolen electronically from Target.
"Probably 5% to 10% of customers will never shop there again. It's just the nature of the beast. But in this day and age, customers have slowly become immune to the breach," Brian Yarbrough, a research analyst with Edward Jones, said in a USA Today article.
Cybercrimes are a growing concern for U.S. retailers. Several other security breaches were detected after the Target debacle went public, including thefts at Neiman Marcus and the Michaels chain of arts and crafts stores. A recently released report from IT security firm McAfee reveals that its Labs detected over 200 new security threats every minute -- that's more than three every second.
"We believe these breaches will have long-lasting repercussions. We expect to see changes to security approaches and compliance mandates and, of course, lawsuits. But the big lesson is that we face a healthy and growing cybercrime industry which played a key role in enabling and monetizing the results of these attacks," reads the McAfee Labs Threats Report for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Security breaches such as the one that hit Target have thrust the issue of cybersecurity into the spotlight. The Obama administration in particular has been vocal in attempting to bolster transparency and accuracy between firms when a cybersecurity threat is detected. The White House recently released the 39-page Cybersecurity Framework aimed at giving firms a road map of how to react to a cyberthreat.
"Businesses should be required to provide prompt notice to consumers in the wake of a breach. American consumers should know when they are at risk of identify theft or other harms because of a data security breach," Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman told the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last month.
"Never has the need for legislation been greater," Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Edith Ramirez said. "With reports of data breaches on the rise, and with a significant number of Americans suffering from identity theft, Congress needs to act.