Today In Data: Fighting The Many Flavors Of Friction

If one had to take digitization and sum it up under a single goal, fighting friction would probably be as good a heading as any. Because for as many advances that are made, friction has a way of always fighting back. Sometimes, the trouble is structural, as in retail processes that have evolved to be customer- or worker-unfriendly. Sometimes the trouble is security, and finding ways to lock out bad actors while keeping things running smoothly for good actors. But where there is innovation, there’s hope – and luckily, there’s a building commitment to innovation.

Data:

65.4 percent: Share of retailers that report innovating to increase customer loyalty.

46 percent: Share of companies that believe their website is at risk of a data breach.

43 percent: Share of businesses that report having experienced a security breach in the last 12 months.

23: The average number of clicks it takes a consumer to check out online.

10 percent: Share of U.S. workers making over $100,000 a year that report living paycheck to paycheck.