Inventory Hoarding

Inventory hoarding bots are designed to add products to carts without completing the checkout process, preventing real customers from purchasing. These bots are commonly deployed by scalpers or competitors to create artificial scarcity, making it seem like items are out of stock. Some attackers use this tactic to manipulate pricing, disrupt sales, or damage a retailer’s reputation. This issue is particularly prevalent during high-demand product launches, such as gaming consoles, limited-edition sneakers, and concert tickets.

Impact

Inventory hoarding leads to false scarcity, frustrating genuine buyers who believe an item is sold out when stock is actually being held in abandoned carts. This can reduce legitimate sales and lower conversion rates, as potential customers may turn to secondary markets or competitors instead. Additionally, inflated abandoned cart rates can distort marketing analytics, making it harder for businesses to optimize their sales funnel. Retailers may also face higher infrastructure costs as bot-driven cart activity increases server load.

Example

During a PS5 restock, bots flood an online retailer’s website, adding thousands of consoles to carts without purchasing them. This causes real customers to see "out of stock" messages, even though inventory is still available. Eventually, when the retailer releases the stock, many genuine customers have already left the site or purchased from resellers at inflated prices. The retailer not only loses direct sales but also suffers reputational damage for failing to manage demand effectively.

Mitigation

To prevent inventory hoarding, businesses implement cart time limits, purchase restrictions, and CAPTCHA verification during checkout. Releasing abandoned carts back into inventory after a short period helps ensure stock remains available for real customers. Some retailers also require logged-in accounts for purchases, limiting how many items a user can add to their cart. Bot detection systems and rate limiting further help in identifying and blocking automated inventory hoarding attempts.