On-Demand Verification speeds card authorization in Crutchfield’s Q4

With 27% of its annual sales rung up in November and December, order volume at Crutchfield Corp.’s Cruthfield.com is double normal levels during that time. This past holiday season, adding on-demand credit card verification functionality streamlined the card authorization process and helped Crutchfield meet or exceed its customers’ processing expectations without having to increase staffing, according to Anne Fields, Crutchfield’s director of financial compliance.

Crutchfield, No. 81 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide, was an early user of TARGUSinfo’s recently launched On-Demand Verification service. The data verification service allows retailers to instantly analyze the validity, accuracy and depth of the relationship between name, address and phone information. The service complements AVS, which only confirms pieces of address information with the credit card billing record, according to TARGUSinfo.

The service seeks to help retailers speed through valid transactions that might otherwise be delayed, including the use of work, cell or voice-over-IP numbers entered into web forms, recent home relocations and alternative “ship-to" destinations. "We strive for same-day shipping, so you can see why a robust and accurate verification system is important,” says Fields. “In many cases we were able to correct/enhance shipping addresses through On-Demand Verification which resulted in quicker delivery to our customers by our carriers.”

Fields says Crutchfield currently uses other verification systems in conjunction with On-Demand Verification. “We have found the online system is more accurate and the information provided is more relevant than other services we have used in the past,” she adds.