--- title: "Online Retail Fraud Trends 2026: New global report" date: 2026-09-09T12:00:00+01:00 author: Nikoleta Dimitriou canonical_url: "https://www.ravelin.com/blog/online-retail-fraud-trends-2026" section: Blog --- Blog /[Fraud trends](/resources?search=&category%5B0%5D=201169#resourceContainer "Go to Fraud trends") # Online Retail Fraud Trends 2026: New global report Refund abuse just outranked traditional forms of first-party abuse in terms of its negative impact on retailers – while 78% say fraud has stifled their growth to some extent. 09 September 2026 ![Online Retail Fraud Trends 2026: New global report](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_blogSmall/529-Retail-Report-Web-tile-Feature-885x505_2x.webp) Online retail continues to thrive in an omnichannel world, but the threats are evolving fast. To uncover the latest challenges for retailers who sell online, Ravelin conducted a survey of 1,504 fraud and payments professionals across 10 countries, exploring their recent observations, pain points, and future predictions. Today, we're releasing new data for the Retail sector in the form of the *[Retail Fraud Trends 2026 – A Global Survey Report](https://pages.ravelin.com/hubfs/FS26%20-%20Fraud%20Survey%202026/Online%20Retail%20Fraud%20Trends%20Report%202026%20by%20Ravelin.pdf)*, breaking down findings across three key subsectors to support companies in better understanding the fraudscape: - **Online Retail: Clothing, Accessories & Beauty** – a popular category for shoppers, but unfortunately also popular with amateurs dipping their toes in fraud - **Online Retail: Computers & Electronics** – high-value, coveted goods that are at the crosshairs of many a fraudster - **Online Retail: Other** – a category that includes all retailers selling goods that are not part of the two subsectors above [Working with leading retail companies from across the world](https://www.ravelin.com/sector/fraud-prevention-for-online-retail), Ravelin's expertise lies in preventing fraud and abuse, allowing merchants to **convert with confidence**. ## Our 2026 retail fraud findings This year's data reveals major shifts in the threat landscape. Notably, **refund abuse has outranked traditional forms of first-party abuse**, such as fraudulent [chargeback claims](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/chargeback-vs-refund-abuse), in terms of its negative impact on businesses. Fraud continues to be a severe roadblock, with the average retailer losing $9.3m annually to fraudsters – both professional and amateur. In fact, **78% of retail merchants agree that fraud has negatively affected their company's growth**, and 52% have delayed entering new markets or launching new products specifically because of fraud concerns. The report also dives into the future of agentic commerce, detailing predictions on autonomous AI agents and future fraud prevention spend. **[ Click here to read the Retail Fraud Trends 2026 by Ravelin – A Global Survey Report and better understand what's important and what's coming up in ecommerce retail fraud.](https://pages.ravelin.com/hubfs/FS26%20-%20Fraud%20Survey%202026/Online%20Retail%20Fraud%20Trends%20Report%202026%20by%20Ravelin.pdf)** [![Retail fraud trends 2026](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/Online-Retail-Fraud-Trends-report-2026-promo-image.jpg)](https://pages.ravelin.com/hubfs/FS26%20-%20Fraud%20Survey%202026/Online%20Retail%20Fraud%20Trends%20Report%202026%20by%20Ravelin.pdf) **[Download the Retail Fraud Trends Report 2026 here.](https://pages.ravelin.com/hubfs/FS25%20Fraud%20and%20Payments%20Survey%202025/Online%20Retail%20Fraud%20Trends%20Report%20by%20Ravelin.pdf)** ## Related resources - [Ravelin for online retailers ](https://www.ravelin.com/sector/fraud-prevention-for-online-retail) - [Agentic commerce fraud: How to protect your online shop](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/agentic-commerce-fraud-ai-agent-fraud) - [Case Study: How River Island used Ravelin to transform and expand its fraud strategy](https://www.ravelin.com/case-studies/river-island-transforms-fraud-strategy-with-automated-decisioning) - [5 types of refund abuser you’ll meet after the peak period sales boom – and how to deal with them](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/5-types-of-refund-abuser-sales-refunds) ## Author ![Nikoleta Dimitriou](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_avatarSmall/196785/1669287463716_2023-12-07-164059_ybjd.webp) Nikoleta DimitriouSenior Content Manager With a marketing career focused on technology, Nikoleta has worked for the data science, e-learning, and fraud industries, among others. Since 2023… [More from this author](https://www.ravelin.com/author/nikoleta-dimitriou) ## Related content [Blog / Fraud analytics ### Burner account detection requires continuous behavioral monitoring and network analysis Today we explore ecommerce burner accounts and why it's important for merchants to home in on and ban them before they do harm. ![Unnamed 3](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_33x33_crop_center-center_none_ns/265422/unnamed-3.webp)Nelda Biltauere,Senior Fraud and Payments Researcher](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/ecommerce-burner-account-fraud) [Blog / Refund abuse ### Refund abuse is too easy to do – and get away with – to leave unchecked Exclusive Ravelin data reveals the sheer extent of ecommerce refund abuse, including how harmful repeat refund abusers are and the measures to stop them. ![1669287463716 2023 12 07 164059 ybjd](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_33x33_crop_center-center_none_ns/196785/1669287463716_2023-12-07-164059_ybjd.webp)Nikoleta Dimitriou,Senior Content Manager](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/ecommerce-refund-abuse-is-easy) [Blog / Press release ### Kinguin renews Ravelin partnership after cutting ecommerce fraud to “industry-leading low” The leading gaming marketplace extends AI fraud prevention deal for further three years, with Ravelin automating real-time fraud defenses and supporting growth to over 20 million customers. ![Ravelin Symbol Blue 1](https://storage.googleapis.com/ravelin-website-assets-production/assets/images/_33x33_crop_center-center_none_ns/187712/Ravelin-Symbol-Blue-1.webp)Ravelin Technology](https://www.ravelin.com/blog/kinguin-ravelin-partnership-renewal)