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Today the biggest online shopping day of the year?

Cyber Monday hits, leading internet retailers to add extra servers to keep pace with the rush.

By Barry Collins, 8 Dec 2008 at 15:39

Internet retailers are piling on extra servers as they prepare for the busiest internet shopping day of the year.

The second Monday in December has become known as "Cyber Monday", when internet shopping levels peak ahead of Christmas.

This year's big rush could be especially busy, as recession-conscious shoppers attempt to hunt down the best prices online.

Trade body IMRG predicts that internet retail sales will grow by 15 per cent this year, with UK shoppers predicted to spend £13.16 billion in the run-up to Christmas.

Shopping site traffic is expected to peak between 12pm-2pm and 6pm-9pm today, as workers do their Christmas shopping in their lunch breaks and as they return from work.

If you're not planning to join the rush, there's still a couple of weeks left before you really need to start panicking about the internet shopping arriving before the big day. The Royal Mail Christmas post checker recommends a final posting date of 20 December for deliveries within the UK, although retailers may impose earlier or later deadlines themselves.

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3 comments

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Internet boon could mean increase downtime

Surges in web traffic this week offer welcome relief to retailers, but also have the potential to cause major website downtime. I am surprised that internet retailers are still looking to ‘pile on extra servers’ when software is available to help them to quickly scale up to cope with demand. Intelligent Application Delivery Controllers can be easily downloaded and switched on at heavy usage times without the need for late night datacentre visits to plug in extra hardware (not to mention the time it takes for the box to arrive). This year, customers are hungry for discounts and less loyal so if they can’t find what they want or experience poor online service they won’t hesitate to go elsewhere. Earlier this year, Sainsbury’s reportedly lost nearly £700,000 a day in sales when its website went down for three days, resulting in hundreds of customers purchasing their groceries from competitor websites. And just a week ago Debenham’s online store also crashed just as its three day £200m sale began. In these tough trading conditions, retailers need to make the most of any sales opportunity so poor online customer service is simply not an option

By Ip_katehamilton7 on Tuesday Dec 9