The festive season is a revenue moment – don't let friction or fraud derail it

Retailers need to optimise their online platforms to holiday sales goals.

Retailers face mounting pressure to deliver frictionless, secure digital experiences.

According to a DBS report, e-commerce sales in the region will more than double from $240b in 2024 to $535b by 2030. As online retail becomes more deeply embedded in consumer habits, periods that see spikes in activity – such as festive seasons – increasingly test retailers' ability to deliver seamless and secure shopping experiences.

Retailers need to optimise their online platforms to successfully achieve demanding holiday sales goals, and understand that the consumer journey is no longer restricted to humans, with the emergence of an entirely new channel: Artificial intelligence (AI) Agents that can now shop and rapidly price compare on people’s behalf.  

Unfortunately, the combination of heavy traffic, increased consumer demands, and growing fraud threats highlights weaknesses in e-commerce identity systems, particularly at key moments such as login, checkout, and account registration.

Any friction that comes up in these critical points of interaction can lead directly to costly cart abandonment, reducing revenue.

With data showing that 54% of consumers abandon services due to login frustration, and AI agents amplifying consumer expectations of security and trust, identity and security are no longer backend concerns but frontline revenue drivers changing how brands deliver experiences, verify trust and reduce friction across digital touchpoints.

UX as a business driver
To meet the pressure of the festive shopping spree, the user experience (UX) of e-commerce sites must be frictionless, intuitive, and swift to keep shoppers engaged. A single design flaw in UX has the potential to drive customers away for good.

According to a study by PwC, 88% of online consumers are less likely to return after a poor experience.

Furthermore, today's consumers also prioritise security, with 75% recently stating that they are more concerned about personal data security than they were five years ago, and that biometrics are the top feature that would both improve their login experience and improve their level of trust in brands.

However, retailers don't have to overhaul the entire customer journey to see results for the upcoming festive holidays. Making small changes at key stages of the customer journey – such as account creation, login, and checkout – can deliver the sales numbers that retailers are looking for.

For example, new customers can be given the option to use a guest profile during checkout, removing the friction that account creation can bring to the purchasing journey. Retailers can also give their customers the option to go passwordless by allowing them to use device fingerprint or biometrics for frictionless access

Logged-in sessions should also be allowed to last longer by continuously assessing risk signals. This will allow low-risk users to skip login at a critical time. Retailers should also make it convenient for returning customers to sign in across every digital channel by giving them one set of credentials to use everywhere.

These changes will elevate UX and go a long way towards driving shopper retention during peak demand.

Infrastructure must scale for peak demand
With annual targets on the horizon, the proximity of Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day shopping periods is make-or-break for online retailers. The opportunity to drive sales through increased traffic volumes is tempered by unexpected pitfalls such as poor site performance and a frustrating UX that can deter shoppers.

For retailers running on legacy platforms, complex custom development and time-consuming integration hinder the agility needed to deliver seamless shopping experiences during heightened demand.

This can prevent rapid UX adjustments or security enhancements from being made, especially during the fast-moving festive window. Therefore, there's a need for scalable, cloud-native identity platforms that can dynamically adjust to traffic surges without affecting UX or performance.

Fraud prevention without friction
Whilst a smooth and easy shopping journey attracts and retains customers, without strong security, sensitive identity data and payment information can be exposed to cyber threats like data breaches, account takeovers, and fraud.

Based on a 2024 EY report, 64% of consumers faced increased vulnerability during holiday shopping. Consumers want smoother login experiences, and 34% of consumers reported biometric authentication as the top feature that would increase their trust in online brands.

Local banks believe that the increased vulnerability is set to continue as another festive season rolls around, as scams peak along with high shopping demand.

Fraud prevention is as much a revenue protection strategy as it is a security measure.  It's vital for conversion optimisation during any festive season. Passive, intelligent fraud detection tools help in this regard, as they monitor user behaviour invisibly without disrupting genuine buyers.

The right fraud prevention solution will also leverage machine learning and risk-based authentication to reduce friction without compromising security.

In short, invisible, adaptive security fosters trust and reduces friction, giving retailers a competitive advantage during peak shopping periods.

Identity is the success and loyalty engine
The festive shopping surge comes and goes quickly, and retailers do not have the luxury of delivering subpar shopping experiences that aren't optimised for ease and security.

Compounded by AI agents deciding what actually gets seen, trusted and purchased, the playing field has shifted. As retailers begin to understand this shift and begin treating security as a brand trust enabler that’s woven directly into the customer journey, they will have the competitive edge.