End of year in retail: identity verification technology sustains high conversion and e-commerce growth, points out Unico

During a decisive period for Brazilian retail, which begins on Black Friday, runs through Christmas, and extends until the end of December, the combination of identity verification technology and anti-fraud intelligence has proven crucial to sustaining conversion and capturing demand at scale. Data from Unico, the leading identity verification network, reveals that in November alone, over R$ 1 billion was transacted via Unico IDPay – a solution that verifies identity and credit card ownership at the moment of online purchase – with the Black Friday week standing out, recording a 35% growth compared to the previous week.

Specifically on Black Friday, the total value of transactions processed (GMV) was 114% higher than the previous day, with no occurrence of technological incidents – a relevant performance in a context where increased purchase volume is often accompanied by fraud spikes and improper declines. According to a recent study by Unico in partnership with Opinion Box, Brazilian e-commerce loses between R$ 120 billion and R$ 150 billion per year due to declined payments, most of which involve legitimate consumers.

This challenge becomes even more relevant at year-end. According to the Brazilian Association of Artificial Intelligence and E-commerce (ABIACOM), online purchases are expected to generate R$ 26 billion in December. In this scenario, maintaining high approval rates in checkout is decisive for retail to capture the maximum potential of this period.

As a reference, during Black Friday, Unico IDPay recorded a 92% increase in received GMV and multiplied the approved volume by five, consolidating an accumulated growth of 338% in GMV in just two years.

Another relevant indicator was the evolution of the card validation rate, which jumped from 46% to 81%. The average approved ticket also grew by 26%, reinforcing the importance of using identity verification technology for higher-value purchases – typical behavior for year-end shopping. Among major retailers using the IDPay solution with significant results in fraud prevention, Magazine Luiza stands out, with one of the market's best approval rates – around 60%.

In the sectoral breakdown, Tourism and Transport stood out, with an 18.6% increase in revenue on Black Friday. According to Unico IDPay data, the GMV received by the sector in Brazil grew by 64% during this discount season, indicating high confidence among companies in identity verification technology as an ally to capture demand.

“The data shows that the problem of declined payments is not only about fraud, but also about how the market validates transactions. Systems based on generic rules continue to block real consumers. When we confirm the customer's identity, we can maintain high approval rates even during the most crucial and high-volume moments for retail, such as Black Friday and Christmas,” says Rodrigo Magalhães, head of Unico IDPay.

This performance reinforces the thesis presented in the study “Anatomy of Declined Payments,” which states that nine out of every ten declined transactions in Brazilian e-commerce are legitimate. In a highly competitive year-end, reducing friction in checkout has ceased to be merely an operational issue and has become a strategic factor for growth, customer loyalty, and capturing retail's maximum potential.