40% of UK ecommerce sites crash during seasonal peaks

A new study has found that 40 percent of ecommerce websites in the United Kingdom have experienced some downtime during Easter and other seasonal peak periods. Also, almost half of online retailers didn’t feel completely ready for seasonal peaks in website traffic.

These are the most important results from a study by Cogeco Peer 1, which surveyed over 100 decision makers in the British ecommerce industry. It also found that 58 percent of UK retailers faced page speed issues during seasonal peaks over the last year.

‘UK retailers need to act’

“Retailers are facing considerable challenges when selling online: from how to compete with the likes of Amazon and how social media is transforming shopping; to harnessing the power of automation and maintaining a uniform, effective online presence 24/7”, Susan Bowen of Cogeco Peer 1 says. “The study highlights the need for UK retailers to act if they are to take full advantage of the revenue opportunities available during seasonal peak spending periods.”

The struggling retailers are losing millions during the busy online shopping period. Last year, days such as Easter, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day accounted for a £7 billion boom for the British economy.