Holiday Shopping, Old School, Desktop Included

As the world gathers to mark the holidays and celebrate, hopefully, gatherings of friends and family (are the two always mutually exclusive?), the payments world never sleeps, spiked egg nog or no.

And given the omnichannel omnipresence of omni-presents, it is fitting that this week’s Sizzle/Fizzle should have some online shopping popping up. Here’s a surprising finding: Hardware is not dead, at least when it comes to clicking and ordering. Mobile may be the name of the game for the future, but sometimes, you just want to stay in for a long, hard day with the buy button — in front of a desk, of course. And there are indications that the consuming machine that is the U.S. consumer will keep consumption lofty beyond the holiday season.

Against that healthy consumerism, hackers are hale and hearty, too. They’re finding opportunity in hardware, just like the people who shop — yet their opportunity is rife with loss — for firms and their customers. So, while you ponder how to steer that secret crush under the mistletoe, ponder also who’s buying, who’s not and be thankful your stocking won’t be stuffed with bolivars.

SIZZLE

Online Shopping

Desktops are dead? Not really. The latest data from comScore said that consecutive billion-dollar days — online, that is — has hit a record of 19 (and possibly counting) since Turkey Day. Who says the old tower, wire and mouse setup no longer cuts it? Or is it the case that the desktop as shopping cart has its root in workplace use? After all, slow days abound headed into the end of the year.

Consumer Confidence

Recent data underscores the strength of the purse, at least in the United States. In November, the Consumer Confidence Index rose to 107.1 from 100.8 in October. That’s a nine-year high, and optimism abounds.

Cyberinsurance

Count a silver lining among the plethora of breaches for at least one industry: cyberinsurance. PricewaterhouseCoopers has estimated that the corporate cyberinsurance market that is worth $3 billion at present will be worth as much as $7.5 billion in 2020 (that’s as measured in premiums). Proof positive that protection is not only proactive but can be lucrative, too.

FIZZLE

POS Hacks

Retail, retail everywhere and not a place to hide from hackers? Don’t depend on hardware to save you. Attivo Networks said that do-badders are looking to hack into POS systems, rife as they are with tech vulnerabilities offering up a back door for data breaches. Hacking. It’s not just for Yahoo anymore.

Amazon On-Time Delivery

The holidays are here. For real. And Amazon may — or may not — get deliveries done in time, on time, for gifts slated to myriad tots and adults. Cargo airlines are facing staff shortages and labor disputes, which may translate into empty stockings above the hearth.

Venezuela

New currency. No, wait, no new currency. And yet, inflation remains a constant and so does chaos. Looting has pretty much made it impossible for the government to phase out the 100-bolivar note and bring new, larger ones to the country. So, the phase-in (of 500-bolivar notes) and phase-out are being delayed until next month.