Automated bots are costing online shopping platforms 3.35 per cent of their annual revenue, according to research from a bot detection company.

For 35 per cent of respondents in this sector, this equates to $235 million a year.

According to survey respondents by Netacea, automated bots operated by malicious actors cost businesses an average of 3.6 per cent of their annual revenue.

For the 25 per cent worst affected businesses, this equates to at least a quarter of a billion dollars every year.

78 per cent of eCommerce businesses stated that scalper bots had a known financial impact in 2020, costing between two and ten per cent of their online revenue.

The report surveyed 440 businesses across the travel, entertainment, e-commerce, financial services and telecoms sectors in the United States and the UK.

It found that every sector had a substantial bot problem, with two-thirds of businesses detecting website attacks.

46 per cent of respondents reported mobile apps had been attacked.

“Last year, a particularly tough one for legitimate businesses already operating with razor-thin margins thanks to an economic slump, was a bumper year for those who use bots to leech off of those businesses—especially from bad actors who looked to take advantage of a significant shift to online working and retail,” said Andy Still, CTO, Netacea.

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