This upcoming holiday shopping season will be the culmination of what was a tumultuous year in the retail security industry. Starting shortly after last Thanksgiving at Target, a number of big-name retailers have been victims of serious security breaches, ranging from Home Depot to Michael's and Staples, which is currently investigating a potential incident that may have occurred earlier this fall. These were all high profile cases, which means the public, who will soon have to decide which stores to shop at for holiday gifts, may want to stay away from those that have been victimized by security breaches.

A recent study conducted by Creditcards.com sought to evaluate the general sentiment surrounding stores like Target, Home Depot and Staples as we head into the holiday shopping season. According to a survey of 865 credit and debit card holders, 45 percent will not shop at stores that have been recently breached. This means that more than half of shoppers will continue to shop at stores that have proven to be vulnerable in the past. 

"The consumer's now somewhat desensitized [to breaches]," said Rod Sides, principal at Deloitte Consulting.

While this study and the reaction to its results seem to imply that the breaches haven't had a major impact on consumer perception, the fact remains that businesses could potentially lose out on close to half of their potential revenue if they were hacked in the last year. That's enough for merchants to be mindful of their security practices. And even if the majority of the public is forgiving, they may not feel the same way if their preferred retailers suffer attacks for the second straight year. 

As we head into the holiday shopping season, now is a good time to review PCI compliance requirements and make sure you are prepared to protect customer information.