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It’s pretty much guaranteed that Eddie Bauer’s business will take a hit after customers’ payment card information was compromised following an admission by the chain that its point of sale (POS) was hit by a malware attack. What’s not known is just how big the hit will be.
The retailer has reported that records compromised were restricted to its stores in Canada and the U.S. while purchases made on eddiebauer.com were not affected. Digital forensic experts brought in by Eddie Bauer have found transactions made between January 2 and July 17, 2016 may have been affected.
“We have been working closely with the FBI, cyber security experts, and payment card organizations, and want to assure our customers that we have fully identified and contained the incident and that no customers will be responsible for any fraudulent charges to their accounts,” said Mike Egeck, CEO of Eddie Bauer, in a statement. “In addition, we’ve taken steps to strengthen the security of our point of sale systems to prevent this from happening in the future.”
The chain began notifying customers who may have been affected last week. It has offered identity protection to all its customers as a precaution although not all transactions were affected.
The “2016 KPMG Consumer Loss Barometer” has found that 19 percent of consumers surveyed would stop shopping at a retailer if they had been the victim of a cyber-security hack. Thirty-three percent say they would stop shopping at a breached retailer for at least three months as a matter of caution.
"Make no mistake, there is a lot at stake here for retailers," said Mark Larson, KPMG's business leader for consumer markets and global and U.S. sector leader for retail, said in a statement. "Consumers are clearly demanding that their information be protected and they're going to let their wallets do the talking."