Does CVV affect e-commerce conversion rates?

on Jan14

Earlier today we published a guide on AVS and CVV and how these fraud prevention tools can help you in determining whether or not to process an order. There is some evidence, though, that in the e-commerce process, requiring the CVV code can actually reduce conversion rates. Get Elastic has published a report on a study done for the top 100 online retailers and found:

Conversion rates were a full 40% higher where Top 100 retailers did not request a CVV (Card Verification Value), yet over 55% of them do.

Does that mean you should stop using the CVV code on your e-commerce web site?

Not necessarily. This study was with the top 100 retailers. You should consider whether or not it makes sense to use it for YOUR business:

Does your business have a high rate of fraud? If so, you might want to use it even if it does lower conversion rates.
How much does each fraudulent transaction cost you? If fraudulent transactions hurt your business significantly, then yes, it might behoove you to use CVV, but if a fraudulent transaction has no real impact on your bottom line, perhaps you might want to scrap that CVV.
Does CVV lower conversion rates on YOUR e-commerce web site? Just because the top 100 retailers experienced this, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s true for you. The only way to really know that is to test it. You can use what is commonly referred to as an A|B test–send half of your traffic to the page with the CVV, half to a page without the CVV. See whether there is any difference in conversion. Then determine whether that difference in conversion is worth the increase in fraudulent transactions.

If you decide you’re going to do some A/B testing, here are some resources on A/B testing to help you out: