Cybersecurity in retail: How to bridge the trust gap

Whether shopping online or in-store, consumers expect their data to be safe — and they’re quick to walk away if it’s not. Cybersecurity stands at the forefront of building trust, while also maintaining resilience and driving competitive advantage in retail.

As companies embrace omnichannel strategies and navigate complex supply chains, cyber threats are evolving relentlessly. To stay competitive, retailers must do more than defend. They should innovate by connecting the strategic vision of the C-suite with cybersecurity expertise, integrating robust protection measures into every aspect of their business operations.

The challenge? Many retailers aren’t moving fast enough, while others are overestimating their preparedness and allowing gaps to emerge between perception and reality.

The cybersecurity readiness paradox

PwC’s 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights Survey exposes a cyber resilience gap across sectors. Only 2% of global organizations have fully implemented holistic strategies in all critical areas, despite substantial digital investments. This is particularly notable for retailers, where a 17% confidence gap exists between CISOs/CSOs and CEOs regarding AI and resilience compliance, compared with a 13% disparity across all sectors.

This vulnerability increases as the sector‘s attack surface grows. Over the past decade, retail’s rapid adoption of cloud services, smart devices and complex partner ecosystems has significantly outpaced its security measures. Retailers are ill-equipped to address their most pressing threats — attacks on connected products, cloud vulnerabilities, hack-and-leak operations, supply chain breaches and ecommerce fraud.

This misalignment between heightened risks and actual readiness can create a potential blind spot that exposes retailers to an array of digital vulnerabilities.

Cybersecurity as a competitive advantage

In an era of data breaches making daily headlines, consumer trust has become the most valuable currency. With 83% of global consumers prioritizing personal data protection, data security now stands as a key differentiator in today’s privacy-driven market.

This trust imperative becomes only more critical as retail transforms into a seamless omnichannel experience. PwC’s 2024 Holiday Outlook reveals a striking convergence: 74% of U.S. consumers purchase and 73% browse across both physical and digital channels. For digital platforms in the retail sector, effective cybersecurity protocols play a vital role in combating ecommerce fraud, securing transactions and safeguarding both consumer trust and retail revenues.

Adding to this complexity, the adoption of leading tech like generative AI and biometric payments introduces new data security considerations. This dynamic fusion of digital and physical retail, amplified by advanced technologies, calls for a robust cross-channel cybersecurity framework to help safeguard consumer data and foster trust.

What we’re finding at PwC is that forward-thinking retailers are positioning cybersecurity not just as a shield in this complex landscape, but as a powerful market differentiator. Our data underscores this shift: 55% of global retail executives recognize customer trust as a key competitive advantage driven by strong cybersecurity. Moreover, 44% see it as a catalyst for enhanced brand integrity and loyalty.

The consumer call for transparency

Even as retailers respond to cybersecurity’s trust-building power, differing perceptions may slow their progress. Executives significantly overestimate consumer confidence in their data practices, creating misalignment between expectation and reality.

PwC’s 2024 Global Voice of the Consumer Survey indicates that consumers are increasingly savvy about their data rights, with 80% demanding assurances that their personal information won’t be shared. But there’s a catch: Only about half feel assured in their understanding of how their data is being handled and shared.

This knowledge gap presents an important opportunity for retailers to build trust through transparency and education, especially in the broader business environment where only 32% of U.S. executives say their companies disclose their data privacy policies, compared with 88% of U.S. consumers who believe this is important.

Here’s another critical insight uncovered by our research: Consumers readily share data when they perceive clear value in return. Nearly half of global consumers welcome the use of their data for personalized services and experiences. This willingness is most evident in loyalty programs, where retailers can create virtuous cycles of trust and mutual benefit by demonstrating how customer data enhances shopping experiences through tailored recommendations, seamless transactions and exclusive offers.

Five actionable strategies for retail cybersecurity

Retailers should consider these strategies to help reduce the gap between current cybersecurity efforts and the protection required to stay resilient and build trust.

1. Elevate the CISO role: Integrate your chief information security officer into strategic planning, board reporting and tech deployments. With retail lagging other sectors in this regard and fewer than half of CISOs involved in these critical areas, elevating this role allows cybersecurity to help shape major business decisions.
2. Prioritize data security investment: Our survey indicates that data protection/trust is the primary focus for 47% of retail business executives in their cyber investments. This means implementing strong safeguards and adopting a privacy-by-design approach for customer-facing technologies. Strengthening data security helps safeguard against breaches, but it can also help boost customer engagement and loyalty by securing personal information used in loyalty programs and personalized services.
3.  Fortify third-party defenses: Given the reliance on cloud providers and third-party vendors, retailers should help strengthen their third-party risk management frameworks by conducting regular audits and confirming their partners adhere to strict cybersecurity protocols.
4. Quantify cyber risk: With only 15% of retailers measuring the financial impact of cyber risk, this practice needs greater prioritization. Assess potential costs of various cyber scenarios to inform security strategies and improve resource allocation.
5.  Secure emerging tech: As artificial intelligence and IoT transform retail, prioritize a security-first mindset. Balance innovation with robust protections to address new vulnerabilities.

Building resilience and trust into the future

The retail industry faces a pivotal moment in cybersecurity. Forward-thinking retailers are prioritizing threat detection and mitigation to safeguard the business, which can help offset lost opportunities. This also positions them to adjust their practices to industry or regulatory changes in data privacy and security, such as those that could arise as an outcome from the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

By embracing holistic cyber resilience, stringent data protection and transparency, they’re not just safeguarding operations — they’re building trust with customers. In the coming years, retailers that close the cybersecurity trust gap will protect their assets while gaining a decisive edge in customer loyalty and market leadership.