Cyber Monday Madness

How can retailers reap profits and avoid pitfalls specific to the year’s biggest day of online shopping?

Traditionally, Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving known for its unbeatable deals on electronics and big box purchases -- has signaled the kick-off of the annual holiday shopping bonanza. Stampedes of shoppers would rush to department stores to take advantage of these one-day sales, often risking both life and limb in the process.

However, as eCommerce has increasingly taken the place of physical trips to the mall, a new and decidedly less dangerous alternative to the in-store rush has emerged. Thanks to “Cyber Monday,” the internet’s version of Black Friday, consumers can take advantage of some of the best deals of the year, all from the comfort (and safety) of their living rooms.

Given its advantages, it’s no surprise that Cyber Monday has become the biggest online shopping day of the year, with an estimated 126 million consumers taking to the web to hunt for deals each year. The growth of Cyber Monday’s popularity shows no signs of stopping: in 2015, online order revenue hit a new record, totaling three billion dollars -- an 18% increase from the previous year.

Managing High Web Traffic

Unfortunately, this massive influx of web traffic and demand has spawned an entirely new set of logistical challenges for suppliers and retailers alike. Walmart’s disastrous 2011 Cyber Monday campaign featured broken checkout pages, login errors, postponed sales, sold out items -- and thousands of outraged shoppers.

Aside from the inconvenience to consumers, a failure like Walmart’s could spell disaster for the retailer as well. When dealing with a glitchy site, 75% of smartphone and tablet users will simply give up and move onto another option. This is an issue comes with serious monetary repercussions: a retailer could lose 8% of the day’s digital sales for each hour that their website is down.

So, how’s a retailer to stay one step ahead of massive Cyber Monday demand?

It’s crucial to take the necessary steps to prepare your website for an influx of traffic. Draw from the previous year’s analytics to estimate the number of customers you can expect -- and prepare for more. Most large companies install extra servers (typically between 50 and 100) beginning a week prior to the expected period of high traffic. We also recommend utilizing caches to store important data that repeat customers have entered in the past, which will streamline the checkout process. Small- or medium-sized businesses can also use online services to stress test their websites in advance.