ClearSale helps global athletic brand score more order approvals, hold off chargebacks and deliver a winning customer experience

Under Armour México represents one of the world’s most recognized athletic brands in one of the world’s fastest-growing ecommerce markets. Domestic ecommerce grew 81% from 2019 through 2020 as more Mexican consumers turned to online shopping after the start of the pandemic.

Fraudsters are turning their attention to Mexico’s ecommerce market, too. As in many markets, online fraud surged in 2020. 16% of Mexican shoppers reported at least one instance of online payment fraud between March 2020 and March 2021 in ClearSale’s report State of Consumer Attitudes on Ecommerce, Fraud & CX 2021.

Selling sought-after brands in a market where many customers are new to online shopping and fraudsters abound presented particular challenges for Under Armour México.

“Before ClearSale, we had a solution in which we were responsible for managing all the different tools, including setting the fraud rules about whether we approved an order automatically, refused an order automatically, or went to manual review, which we also did,” says Ecommerce Operation and Call Center Manager Bernardo D’Elia. “We quickly realized that this process wasn’t sustainable because of the resources and the expertise that is needed to review all our orders quickly and accurately.”

With ClearSale, Under Armour México approves a higher-than-average number of orders each month, maintains a lower-than-average chargeback rate, and prevents millions of pesos in fraudulent orders each year.

The Challenge: Help the Under Armour team approve more good orders, stop more fraud and save time

In addition to saving staff time on order screening and review, Under Armour needed a way to ensure that more good orders are approved. Often, merchants err on the side of caution by rejecting orders that seem risky in any way. However, that leads to higher rates of false declines that can cost businesses customers in the long run.

• 41% of Mexican ecommerce shoppers agree they’ll never order again from a merchant who declines their order.
• 43% agree they would post something negative on social media about the merchant after a decline.
• 43% report at least one declined online order between March 2020 and March 2021. During the same period, an average of 20% of consumers in the U.S., U.K., Australia and Canada reported at least one declined order.

Source: ClearSale’s State of Consumer Attitudes, Fraud & CX 2021 Survey

Under Armour needed a solution that would prevent fraud, reduce false declines of good orders and help their team work more efficiently.

The Solution: ClearSale Total Guaranteed Protection

Under Armour needed to free their ecommerce team from the high-stakes, time-consuming task of setting fraud rules and manually reviewing orders, so they could focus on their core tasks. The company also needed an experienced fraud prevention partner with the resources that the popular brand needed to fend off fraudsters and make sure that good customers’ orders are approved.

The company chose ClearSale based on its 2-plus decades of experience in more than 160 countries, including challenging and emerging markets. ClearSale’s AI-driven proprietary algorithm now screens every Under Armour México order, using customer data, behavioral biometrics, geolocation and other information to assess the risk of fraud and to learn how Under Armour’s good customers behave.

When ClearSale detects risky orders, its team of more than 1,500 specialized fraud analysts—the world’s largest—is ready to review them quickly for approval or decline. Fraud is prevented, good customers are recognized and approved, and Under Armour’s ecommerce team can focus on fulfillment, logistics and customer support.

At monthly meetings with the Under Armour team, ClearSale shares information to help them keep up with the latest fraud trends and to continually optimize their fraud control processes for the best possible customer experience.

The Results: More approved orders, fewer chargebacks, better scalability during sales peaks

“If a customer comes to us and we refuse their transaction in error, that is not a good experience,” D’Elia says. “They won’t come back and they’re going to spread the word to their friends and relatives.”

Using its machine learning technology and human expertise, ClearSale has consistently allowed Under Armour to achieve higher than average approvals. With fewer good orders declined on suspicion of fraud, the company generates more revenue, enjoys stronger customer loyalty and protects its brand reputation.

ClearSale helps Under Armour maintain high approvals and minimize chargebacks even during sales peaks like El Buen Fin in November. “Increasing the bandwidth is not easy,” D’Elia says. “It’s good to have a big partner that is able to increase the bandwidth very, very fast.”

With ClearSale on their team, Under Armour México is now free to focus on building customer relationships, optimizing its customer experience and growing. “Working with ClearSale is a partnership more than a vendor-customer relationship,” says D’Elia. “When we win, ClearSale wins, because we have more sales and it’s better for them, too.”