Bot, Humbug: How Bots Might Scrooge Up Your Holiday Shopping Season

Last year’s COVID-influenced holiday shopping season pushed many holiday shoppers online, and at the same time, pushed many retailers to rely on e-commerce more than ever. New hot items, like the latest generation of video game consoles, became the focal point for a wave of sophisticated bots aiming to resell those big-ticket gifts at a huge markup. Retailers suffered the onslaught, with customer experiences impacted and sales lost. This year looks a little different, but begs the same question: how will sophisticated bots disrupt the holiday shopping season for enterprises and consumers alike? An ongoing chip shortage may leave retailers struggling to keep up with the demand for high-profile electronics, incentivizing the fraudsters behind the bots to scoop up what little inventory is available to resell it. And with the bot population on the internet doubling during the holiday season, there’s definitely reason to wonder who’s coming down the chimney. Join HUMAN and our guest speakers, Forrester’s Sandy Carielli and Futurlogic's Jon Cropper, for a discussion about how bots break through retailers’ protections to give them coal this holiday shopping season, and how you can join the movement to keep the holidays human. Moderator: Michael Tiffany, Co-founder & President, HUMAN Guest Speakers: Sandy Carielli, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research Jon Cropper, Managing Partner & Founder, Futurlogic Frank Walsh, Field CTO, HUMAN