Online retailers are about to hit their busiest period, but they have been warned to take extra precautions with their cyber security during the holiday season. 

While e-commerce sites will be focusing their efforts on making sure their digital marketing is on point, their website flows, and their shopping facilities work, it is also worthwhile investing in top-quality cyber protection. 

This comes after Internet Retailing revealed nearly 40 per cent of visitors on retailers’ websites over the last year have not been from a person, but from software applications called bots. These are controlled by operators and are typically designed to cause damage or harm to the retailer. 

For instance, the ‘Grinch bot’ frequently acts during the holiday season, grabbing items that will be really popular so other consumers are unable to purchase them. 

The number of bot attacks on online retailers rose by ten per cent in October last year, and a further 34 per cent the following month. 

Other online threats that are becoming more prevalent include account takeover (ATO), with cybercriminals stealing passwords and usernames of account holders. 

API abuses, distributed denial of service attacks, and credit card fraud are all becoming more of a problem, putting both customers and sales at risk. 

Cybercrime expert Lynn Marks told the publication: “The holiday shopping season is a critical period for the retail industry, and security threats could undermine retailers’ bottom line again in 2022.”

She told retailers they need a “unified approach” to tackle these attacks to protect data and avoid the disruption to shoppers. 

Last year, online spending in the UK reached £17.618 billion, rising by 36.1 per cent on 2019’s figures. Sales made on e-commerce sites also accounted for 28.4 per cent of UK retailing during the Christmas period in 2021, showing just how important it is to protect online retail businesses from cyber-attacks this season. 

For a digital agency in Hull to advise on cyber protection, call us today.