What Is Inventory Hoarding?
Inventory hoarding occurs when bots rapidly add products to carts, reserving stock that real customers can’t purchase. This is especially damaging during:
- Limited product releases
- Flash sales
- High-demand launches
- Holiday promotions
How It Works
- Bots monitor your site for product availability
- Instant cart addition faster than any human
- Inventory locked while in cart
- Real customers blocked from purchasing
- Bots either complete purchase (for resale) or abandon (denying sales)
The Business Impact
Lost Sales
Real customers can’t buy products that are “in carts.”
Customer Frustration
Loyal customers get locked out of launches.
Resale Market Creation
Bot operators resell at markup, profiting from your brand.
Brand Damage
Customers blame you for “selling out instantly.”
Warning Signs
- Products sell out in seconds
- High cart abandonment during launches
- Traffic spikes from data centers
- Customer complaints about availability
- Products appearing on resale sites immediately
Protection Strategies
Block Bot Infrastructure
- Data center IP blocking
- VPN blocking during launches
- Known bot network blocking
Geographic Restrictions
- Limit to shipping regions
- Tighter controls during launches
Traffic Analysis
- Monitor for automated patterns
- Block suspicious sources
SecurEcommerce Protection
Reduce bot impact with:
- ISP/data center blocking
- VPN detection and blocking
- IP blocking for identified bot networks
- Geographic restrictions