Showing posts with label TJ Maxx. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TJ Maxx. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
TJ Maxx: Privacy and Consumer Apathy
Information Week is reporting on the financial statements for TJ Maxx following the massive security breach last year and – surprise! – sales at the retailer are up 6% over last year.
Given the scale of the breach – customer financial information dating back to 2003 was stolen – and the revelation that TJ Maxx was retaining far more information on customers far longer than required to support the transaction, I am surprised that sales did not go down. What message are customers sending to retailers about the importance of privacy and the trust that consumers place in them when making a transaction? Are customers so weary of hearing about security breaches that they have become apathetic to the issue?
It’s not that TJ Maxx hasn’t made an effort to redress the problem:
Given the scale of the breach – customer financial information dating back to 2003 was stolen – and the revelation that TJ Maxx was retaining far more information on customers far longer than required to support the transaction, I am surprised that sales did not go down. What message are customers sending to retailers about the importance of privacy and the trust that consumers place in them when making a transaction? Are customers so weary of hearing about security breaches that they have become apathetic to the issue?
It’s not that TJ Maxx hasn’t made an effort to redress the problem:
The company reported a charge of $20 million, or 0.5% of net sales for the lastAnd many irate consumers are taking the issue to court:
quarter of 2006 toward investigating and containing the computer intrusion, work
to improve the company's computer security and systems, communicating with
customers, and technical, legal, and other related costs
TJX is facing class-action lawsuits from customers in state and federal courtsStill, it is stunning that a retailer can expose consumers to one of the largest and most costly security breaches in history and the shoppers just keep on shopping.
in Alabama, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Puerto
Rico, as well as in provincial Canadian courts in Alberta, British Columbia,
Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. Additional class-action suits from
financial institutions affected by the computer intrusion -- those issuing
credit and debit cards used during the time of the intrusion -- have been
filed against TJX in federal court in Massachusetts. All-told, nine lawsuits
have been filed against TJX since April 17.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
