From bots to scams: Why Americans are over Cyber Monday

Two in five Americans aren’t planning to shop Cyber Monday this year, according to new research.

A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults revealed that 42% don’t intend to knock out their gift lists in what was once dubbed the “easiest” way possible, and another 54% share the same sentiment about shopping in-store on Black Friday.

Perhaps due to bots and more frequent sales, more than seven in 10 (71%) agree that Black Friday and Cyber Monday aren’t the same as they used to be.

Even beyond Cyber Monday, results found that stolen payment information (47%), quality issues (44%) and even all-out scams (39%) are deterring people from shopping online.

Still, more than three-quarters (76%) of those polled believe there’s just a certain amount of risk you have to take in the 21st Century.

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of World, results revealed that, despite skipping out on the two biggest shopping days of the year, 60% of those polled admit they’ll go to great lengths to secure the perfect gift during the holidays.

This includes spending multiple hours scrolling through different websites (39%), waiting in an hours-long queue just for their chance to purchase the item (20%) or even scouring an average of five different online vendors.

When asked what the most desperate or risky thing they’ve done in order to secure that gift, respondents outlined scenarios such as, “buying an item for twice its value and paying more than the cost of the item just to have it shipped to me on time” or driving “five hours away in a snow storm, then waited in a long line for another 3 hours.”

One respondent even found themselves sending money to someone they weren’t sure was real or not.

Regardless of some extreme lengths, two-thirds (67%) of respondents find themselves frequently battling bots for the best products online.

For some, these bots force them to go back in-store (34%), search multiple sites at the same time (32%) or even pay a higher price (24%). But for others, that means missing out on the item entirely (29%) or scouring second-hand markets (20%).

Another 64% would even go so far as to say that the joy of shopping for the holidays is being “stolen” by bots and three-quarters believe that bots will be a bigger problem for holiday shoppers this year than last year.

According to the results, only 18% of those polled are “very confident” that they’re able to tell what’s a legitimate product and what’s a fake product when shopping online, while another 41% are “somewhat confident.”

Overall, almost three in five (57%) believe that bots are a huge issue for online shoppers and have been for the last six years.

This may be why 90% of Americans polled emphasize the importance of being able to verify that they’re making a purchase from an actual human being.

“Holiday shopping shouldn’t leave you guessing ‘bot or not,’ where the Grinch wears silicon instead of fur.” said Trevor Traina, Chief Business Officer at World. “Consumers want fairness, and that starts with knowing who, or what, is on the other side of the transaction. Proof of human verification and a human network restores trust without invading privacy.”

AMERICANS’ BIGGEST ONLINE SHOPPING CONCERNS

• Payment information getting stolen - 47%
• Quality issues with the item they’re buying - 44%
• Being sent the wrong item - 42%
• Identity information being stolen - 39%
• All-out scams (fake products, no actual product to sell, etc.) - 39%
• Not being able to get the item they want due to high demand - 21%

Research methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by World and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Oct. 24 and Oct. 27, 2025. A link to the questionnaire can be found here.

To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.