How e-commerce businesses can benefit from VPN tools
Events of the past year have changed so many elements of our lives, both personally and professionally.
Many businesses may never operate in the same way, with a greater awareness of social distancing and some restrictions still in place.
Of course, another reason for businesses to operate differently is because of the success they’ve found during the pandemic.
The changing e-commerce landscape
It’s not just e-commerce that has been transformed by the pandemic. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development study, people now rely more heavily on the internet for news, health-related information, and digital entertainment.
It results from changing behaviours brought on by the pandemic and its subsequent impact on our lives.
However, shopping has been altered most dramatically, with the UN’s data showing that online sales across almost all product categories have risen.
Products involved with gardening, DIY, and electronics saw the greatest increase in online sales, as so many of us adapted to new lives spent mainly at home.
So, many companies ill-equipped for an online offering either had to adapt or face going out of business.
How businesses have adapted
While the need for bricks and mortar businesses to develop an online presence was clear, it has also been crucial for e-commerce businesses to adapt amid the rapid change of pace in the sector.
Increasing security – both of customer and company – has been a key consideration, with many methods being put in place to achieve this.
● Multi-factor authentication (MFA): This prompts extra input from users before accessing potentially sensitive data, such as stored contact or bank details. It may be a code sent to a user’s mobile phone or a series of memorable questions.
● Utilise e-commerce platforms: Running an e-commerce business through a website of your own design could leave it open to attacks from hackers. With several e-commerce platforms now available, you can select the one with the right approach to security.
● Use a virtual private network: VPNs encrypt your data and mask information on public networks, preventing malicious users from poaching information across them. If you and your staff handle a large amount of data, a VPN is a cost-effective way of bolstering your security in one fell swoop.
The benefits of a VPN
● Secure: Being data secure doesn’t just reassure your existing customers; it may convince new ones to take up your products and services.
● Convenient: You can install VPN technology for Android, desktop computers and other smartphones so that you and your staff can remain secure on the move.
● Versatile: A VPN can offer you other uses aside from security. For example, the ability to set your network to a different territory can show you what your offering looks like for different customers.
