Cyber Week Profits Likely to Shrink Under Friendly Fraud Pressure, Says Chargebacks911

• 77 percent of consumers prefer taking a dispute straight to their bank instead of contacting the merchant

• 39 percent say confusing or incomplete billing descriptions make it hard to recognize purchases

• U.S. holiday online spending is expected to reach $253.4 billion, a 5 percent rise year over year

• Cyber Week is projected to account for $43.7 billion of that total, up 6 percent from last year

TAMPA, Fla. — Cyber Week is about to hit record volume in the United States, and retailers are gearing up for the spike. According to Adobe’s online shopping forecast for the 2025 holiday season, U.S. shoppers to spend $253.4 billion online this holiday season, up about 5 percent year over year, with Cyber Week driving roughly $43.7 billion of that spend, an increase of around 6 percent.

But according to Chargebacks911, a global leader in dispute resolution and chargeback prevention, the most profitable week of the year is also the point where dispute activity starts to accelerate. The company says many merchants are heading into the peak season with rising order volume, tighter delivery windows and customers who treat their banking app as the fastest fix for anything that feels off.

According to Chargebacks911’s 2025 Cardholder Dispute Index, 77 percent of consumers prefer to solve a problem by going directly to their bank rather than contacting the merchant. About 39 percent say they struggle to recognize purchases because the billing description does not match the brand they remember.

Chargebacks911 Founder & CEO, Monica Eaton, says this shift in behavior now collides with a broader global issue. LexisNexis reports that first party fraud (intentional), which includes friendly fraud and cardholder dispute misuse, now makes up 36 percent of reported global fraud cases.

“Cyber Week used to be a straight line from discount to checkout. Today it is a much longer journey, and the hardest part comes after the sale,” said Eaton. “Customers order quickly, but they also forget quickly. When a delivery runs late or the billing name doesn’t look familiar, they open their banking app and file a dispute in seconds. If retailers are not already preparing for this, they are risking revenue they worked hard to win.”

Eaton says the same patterns return every year, only faster now that people rely on instant digital tools. These situations tend to set off the most disputes during Cyber Week:

• A package moves slower than expected, and the customer assumes the worst.

• A “retail-therapy hangover” hits the next morning, and a late night shopping spree suddenly looks unfamiliar on the statement.

• A refund does not appear right away, so the cardholder files a dispute to hurry things along.

• A shopper sees a billing name they do not recognize and flags it without checking their order history.

• Someone finds a cheaper offer after buying, and rather than canceling properly, they challenge the original charge.

“The next step for retailers is simple,” Eaton said. “Tighten the post purchase experience before the rush hits. Make the billing name clear. Keep customers updated on deliveries. Make refunds easy to find. And put dispute alerts in place so you can catch problems early rather than after the revenue disappears.”

Chargebacks911 says merchants who prepare for Cyber Week now will not only protect their sales, they will also start 2026 with fewer preventable losses. Monica Eaton adds that retailers should know their chargeback numbers inside and out, respond to every dispute quickly and avoid accidental double refunds that drain revenue. She says merchants should also make sure banks and customers get accurate feedback, and use dispute management tools that help them handle the surge in cases when volume hits its peak. Chargebacks911’s platform supports these moves by giving merchants the data, workflows and coverage they need to stay ahead of growing inbound disputes.

To access the full 2025 Cardholder Dispute Index, visit https://chargebacks911.com/cardholder-dispute-index.

About Chargebacks911

Chargebacks911® is the global leader in chargeback prevention and remediation technology. As a platform provider to merchants and financial institutions, Chargebacks911 is the first global company fully dedicated to providing an end-to-end platform specifically designed to counter post-transactional fraud and chargeback misuse. Today, Chargebacks911 safeguards more than 2.4 billion transactions per year on behalf of clients in 87 countries around the world, supporting over 2.5 million merchants. For details on Chargebacks911’s comprehensive dispute management solutions, visit https://chargebacks911.com.