Mexican craft beer aficionados turn to Cervexxa to find new brews and imported beers and spirits, whether they want a single delivery for a party or a monthly subscription. Founded in 2016 by craft beer enthusiast Francisco Chávez, Cervexxa has grown from a single website featuring 17 brands to a marketplace for more than 300 brands offering over 800 labels across 15 channels, including the Cervexxa site, delivery services, other marketplaces, and wholesale store.
When Francisco Chávez set out to build Cervexxa, he knew that in addition to the standard challenges of ecommerce, he needed to protect his products in transit, find carriers who could reliably deliver heavy, fragile packages, and comply with local alcohol-delivery regulations.
One challenge that Chávez thought the company had resolved was fraud prevention. Cervexxa relied on the built-in basic fraud screening tools provided by its payment gateway partners, and at first that was enough. However, once Cervexxa started raising its profile, fraudsters sophisticated enough to bypass gateway protections swarmed the site.
“We launched a campaign, and the sales were incredible. We were so happy with the results, we didn’t imagine that 30 days later we would receive a series of chargebacks that represented 90% of the campaign’s sales,” Chávez said. He knew it was time to look for new anti-fraud solutions.
300
brands (as of March 2023)
0
chargebacks (March 2022 – March 2023)
100%
peace of mind (for company leadership and partner brands)
The Challenge: Prevent Fraud-Related Brand Damage, Eliminate Chargeback Concerns
Cervexxa’s high post-campaign chargeback rate represented costly losses for the young company. In addition to the lost revenue and product, Cervexxa also faced chargeback fees from payment providers and the prospect of higher processing fees. The chargebacks also represented a loss of marketing spend related to the campaign. It was a frustrating experience for Chávez, who recognized the need to act immediately. “At that moment, I wanted to know how we could fix this and protect the company,” he said.
In addition to avoiding fraud costs, Cervexxa wanted to prevent fraud from eroding the relationship with its customers. Mexican ecommerce shoppers are highly concerned about safeguarding their information online, and with good reason: 80% have suffered online fraud. In ClearSale’s 2022 consumer attitudes survey, 72% of Mexican online shoppers say the risk of online scams has deterred them from making an ecommerce purchase in the past 12 months, and 89% agree that they will never buy again from a website where their credit card was used for fraud.
Preventing fraud was also important for protecting the reputation of Cervexxa and its suppliers. Fraud rings often target sought-after brands and products so they can resell them at a deep discount. This can tarnish the brand’s reputation among customers. It can also damage vendors’ trust in the ecommerce sites that sell their products.
The Solution: ClearSale Total Guaranteed Protection
Chávez wanted a solution that would give his small business the same level of fraud prevention and chargeback protection as larger ecommerce operations. “We wanted to demonstrate that being a small business does not make us vulnerable," he added. He chose ClearSale’s Total Guaranteed Protection product based on ClearSale’s track record, ease of implementation, and customer service.
ClearSale was the first fraud prevention service provider to offer chargeback guarantees, and for more than 20 years, ClearSale has also been at the forefront of advanced statistical technology innovation for highly precise and accurate fraud prevention. At the same time, ClearSale has cultivated the world’s largest team of fraud analysis experts, now more than 1,500 strong, serving more than 6,000 clients across more than 160 countries.
Total Guaranteed Protection is designed for businesses operating in high-risk verticals, businesses with a history of high chargeback rates, and any business that wants complete coverage of fraud-related chargebacks. Because Total Guaranteed Protection from ClearSale is priced at a fixed rate per approved order, it’s also ideal for businesses that need to carefully plan their fraud-prevention spend because order volume is the only cost variable.
ClearSale gives Cervexxa:
● Industry-leading fraud prevention tailored to Cervexxa’s vertical, channels, customer base, and region.
● Fast order decisioning, so good customers can receive their orders quickly.
● A multilayered approach to false decline prevention to maintain customer loyalty.
● Complete confidence that Cervexxa will never incur chargeback costs because of fraud.
● Knowledgeable, timely responses to any questions Cervexxa has about its fraud prevention service.
The Results: $0 Chargeback Costs, Customer and Supplier Trust, Confidence for Growth
With ClearSale screening Cervexxa’s orders, Cervexxa hasn’t incurred a single chargeback in the past 12 months. If it had, ClearSale’s Total Guaranteed Protection would have covered the cost. That means no fraud using customer’s payment methods, no stolen goods being resold by fraudsters, and stronger trust among Cervexxa’s fans, regular customers, and craft beer suppliers.
Working with ClearSale has helped Chávez achieve his goals of protecting his business and showing that his ecommerce platform is as well-protected as larger online retailers. With Cervexxa’s catalog now featuring more than 300 brands, Chávez has the peace of mind that comes from having ClearSale as “a technological ally.”
“ClearSale works and it’s reliable and user-friendly in its processes, from integration to support—including direct communication with ClearSale’s experts, who can quickly resolve any issues that arise. We now feel confident that fraud is no longer a problem for us.”
