Harrison 
E-commerce downtime is A big concern for e-commerce businesses. After all, online store downtime is similar to brick-and-mortar store closures.
And just as shoppers visit other stores when one store is closed, online users quickly move to another e-commerce website when theirs goes down. . result? You risk losing business and long-term damage to your reputation and online presence.
It doesn’t help that e-commerce downtime happens more often than you’d like. The Uptime Institute’s 2022 Data Center Resiliency Study backs that up, showing: 80% of data center managers and operators There was downtime from 2020 to 2022.
Even more concerning is that one in five companies experienced a severe outage resulting in significant damage. How much “important” are we talking about? Well, between 2020 and 2022, over 60% of his downtime resulted in a total loss of at least $100,000.
The higher the revenue, the higher the cost of downtime. However, if you don’t know how much it costs to do business, keep reading. Consider how to calculate the true cost of e-commerce downtime and the best ways to reduce the impact on your business.
First, let’s take a closer look at the cause.
What causes e-commerce downtime?
Common reasons behind e-commerce downtime include:
human error
E-commerce downtime and outages can occur due to human error. for example:
- Technical mistakes during upgrade or maintenance operations. Employees can accidentally delete important files, misconfigure servers, or introduce bugs into your codebase.
- Security breaches due to weak passwords, incorrect security settings, and failure to install security updates. Hackers could exploit these vulnerabilities to steal customer data, inject malware into websites, or hijack user sessions.Caused by human error 88% of data breaches.
- Scheduling errors result in a lack of resources to handle technical issues with your e-commerce platform.
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software defect
If your online store is integrated with external software or apps, there is a high chance of errors and downtime. In some cases, the integration may not go as planned and your e-commerce store may experience compatibility issues with external software.
Integrating external software can also cause problems security risk. If your app or software has vulnerabilities, your e-commerce site’s security can be compromised, leading to business downtime.
cyber attack
Cyberattacks by hackers and sometimes disgruntled employees are also a major cause of e-commerce downtime. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities in online business systems to gain access to sensitive information or damage your infrastructure.
Research 200 UK eCommerce leaders According to a study by , 82% of businesses witnessed an increase in security threats between 2020 and 2022.
another Research on the potential impact of cyberattacks Research shows that sensitive data leaks were a top concern for 65% of people in 2022. The second biggest concern was downtime, which was a concern for 57.6% of respondents.
planned downtime
Planned maintenance and updates are considered planned downtime because they are done intentionally to minimize customer impact and are typically scheduled during off-peak hours.
Planned downtime is critical to maintaining the stability, security, and up-to-date functionality of your online store. However, even during planned downtime, your e-commerce platform may become temporarily unavailable or degraded, resulting in lost revenue.
Basically, downtime is costly regardless of the cause. But how do you calculate it?
Downtime calculation formula
The cost of downtime can be calculated by multiplying the number of minutes of downtime by the cost per minute.
Downtime cost = minutes of downtime x cost per minute.
Let’s say an online retailer’s average daily revenue is $25,000. That means you can earn $1041.67 per hour, or $17.36 per minute.
Now assume there is 30 minutes of downtime.
Then, downtime cost = 30 (minutes of downtime) x $17.36 (cost per minute). This means that the retailer’s 30 minutes of downtime cost him $520.83.
Need help calculating downtime costs for your business? downtime calculator Created by Rewind.
How downtime negatively impacts your e-commerce business
Some effects of downtime on your e-commerce business are more obvious than others. But ultimately, they all impact the bottom line.
Here’s a quick overview.
decrease in income
same 200 UK eCommerce leaders According to the aforementioned research, businesses with revenues over £10m lost more than 10% of their revenue due to downtime between 2020 and 2022.
But they’re not alone. Let me give you an example of two very costly e-commerce downtimes that occurred recently.
- Amazon lost $34 million On June 8, 2021, the internet was down for about an hour.
- Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp lost $79 million There was a 7-hour outage on October 4, 2021, which resulted in a decrease in advertising revenue.
Loss of potential customers
Online shoppers can switch stores in seconds, so you lose business every time your e-commerce store faces downtime. A website that loads in 1 second has 5x higher conversion rate than something that takes 5 seconds.
Harmful rumor
If your website is slow or down frequently, your company’s reputation will suffer as well.according to PwC’s 2022 Customer Loyalty SurveyMore than 50% of participants claimed that they would be more likely to switch brand loyalty if the online shopping experience with a brand was not as easy or enjoyable as shopping in-store.
Social media is so popular that dissatisfied buyers can easily share their poor customer experiences with others online, damaging the reputation of your e-commerce business.
Reduced productivity and additional costs
When your website goes down, your team can’t work. Additionally, it may take several days to restore your e-commerce site, and you’ll likely have to pay your employees extra for the time they spend fixing it.
Search engine ranking decline
E-commerce downtime can negatively impact your SEO rankings on search engines as active websites rank higher. You can recover from it, but it’s a costly setback to correct.
How to minimize the impact of downtime on your e-commerce business
Downtime is sometimes necessary, and while you can’t always prevent external causes, you can minimize the impact of downtime on your business. Here are some proven methods.
Test your website regularly
You can test for potential problems to prevent your website from going down. Here are some ways to consistently test your website:
- stress test. This is useful for simulating high traffic levels on your website to see how it performs under heavy load.
- Uptime monitoring. Helps you regularly check the availability of your website. If there is a problem, you will be alerted so you can take action.
- Vulnerability scanner. They help scan computer systems and networks for security weaknesses and help identify vulnerabilities, such as outdated software or misconfigurations, that attackers could exploit. .
Schedule timely software updates and data backups
To keep your website running smoothly, keep your software and plugins up to date and install security patches. This helps prevent cyber attacks and software glitches that cause downtime. Consider using security plugins to detect and address potential vulnerabilities.
Additionally, save copies of your website data regularly and have a plan in case something goes wrong. This will help your website get up and running more quickly if it faces downtime.
Have a clear communication policy in place
Having a transparent customer communications plan can do wonders for your brand image. This may include notifying customers before or after downtime occurs, providing regular updates, and providing compensation as appropriate.
Internal precautions can also be taken to reduce downtime due to human error.
Choose a reliable hosting provider
If you’re looking for something reliable secure web hosting, look for companies that guarantee high uptime and have a strong track record in terms of performance. Choosing a reliable hosting provider like Nexcess will go a long way in minimizing downtime.
Final thoughts: How to reduce the impact of downtime in e-commerce
Downtime is a reality for e-commerce businesses, but how you manage it can make a big difference in your success as an online business owner.
The cost of e-commerce downtime is not limited to lost business. Your reputation, rankings, and customer relationships are at stake here. Following the above steps will greatly minimize downtime issues.
To reduce the risk of downtime, it’s important to choose a reliable hosting provider.necessity enterprise hosting You can guarantee great performance for your e-commerce store. Try it today.
