Shopping bots, which can search retail sites automatically, are the rise as a way to help parents shop for Christmas gifts in lieu of searching increasingly empty store shelves, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
The bots can find out when items that were sold out are restocked and can place orders automatically, according to the report. They have been used by resellers in the past to buy and flip high-demand goods. Holiday shoppers are now using them too.