Dynatrace has been helping retailers worldwide for more than ten years to manage these enormous peaks in demand. Because Black Friday and Sinterklaas came almost directly after each other this year, retailers were extremely busy in just a few days. Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Dynatrace processed more than 100 petabytes of data for its customers worldwide, which is comparable to more than 5,000 years of non-stop HD movie watching. This is three times as much data as last year. This is not very surprising, as the period of online bargains is getting longer. It starts on November 11 with Singles Day and ends only around Christmas. This means that many Dutch consumers are looking for bargains throughout the month. On average, each Dutch household receives 59 packages per year, a third of which is ordered during the holiday months.
Retailers using Dynatrace's platform saw an 80% increase in web traffic during the holiday season compared to a normal period. Steve McMahon, Chief Customer Officer at Dynatrace, says: 'During this busy shopping season, we saw enormous spikes in demand that were shorter and sharper than in previous years. As a result, observability technology was extra important for continuing business operations. When traffic increases so quickly, even small performance issues can lead to revenue loss and thus loss of customer trust. Dynatrace supported its customers by providing a smooth experience for their end users, processing more than 100 petabytes of data and ensuring stability and high performance in all regions worldwide.'
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In January, there is often a sale as well. Therefore, organizations must ensure that their systems keep running so they can maintain customer loyalty. It is wise to test in advance whether systems can handle the increased traffic and to manage inventory smartly. This way, organizations can provide value and sell products to returning customers.
Methodology
The comparison made by Dynatrace is based on converting the amount of data into a daily activity. Dynatrace processed more than 100 petabytes of data, which corresponds to approximately 25 million HD movies, assuming an average file size of four gigabytes and an average runtime of two hours. If you were to watch those movies back-to-back without stopping, it would take just over 5,000 years.
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[1] Quartz: https://qz.com/record-118-billion-black-friday-spending-american-budgets
[2] Volkskrant: https://www.volkskrant.nl/economie/nergens-in-europa-kopen-consumenten-vaker-online-dan-in-nederland-regio-utrecht-koploper~bcf315e5/
[4] Emerce: https://www.emerce.nl/nieuws/monta-32-meer-bestellingen-webwinkels-november
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