A tech 'dress' rehearsal

Black Friday, one of the biggest retail sale dates on the calendar, is just two-plus months away – stock is being brought in and marketing campaigns are planned. But, RunwaySale is going one step further to test computer system capabilities and ensure that everything is ready for the thousands of online shoppers. The online retailer is hosting a ‘dress’ rehearsal in the form of a Secret Sale – an idea conceptualised and introduced five years ago – during September.

Karl Hammerschmidt, RunwaySale CEO

"We’ve increased our server infrastructure four-fold over the past few months," says CEO, Karl Hammerschmidt. "In addition, we’ve been coordinating with a team spread across four continents to continue to test the site, by throwing as much at it as they can to sort out any problems. It has been, and still is, a mammoth project but considering the growth of online sales on Black Friday, plus more traffic around campaigns such as X-mas in July and DASH clearance sales, we have to be totally prepared. That’s why we have decided to do this thorough testing in September, to ensure a seamless experience. It means that we can try to prevent bottlenecks and identify any potential application issues."

The Secret Sale is a limited sale of designer items – shown in silhouette form – priced from as little as R5. "Basically, customers do not know what brand they are buying. They simply select the product, as in a pair of designer shoes or a dress, in their size and see their purchase for the first time when it is delivered to their door. Each customer is limited to three items," explains Hammerschmidt. "It is a fun and exciting pop-up sale which shoppers love and is also a way of rewarding our one million-plus loyal members. Previous Secret Sales increased online traffic ten-fold, in fact last year we sold 3,000 units within five minutes, so it’s an ideal precursor to the upcoming high-traffic season.

"Buying online has its perks," says Hammerschmidt. "Customers don’t have to queue at one of the 1,950 overflowing shopping centres or struggle to find parking. However, it does have its technical challenges as was seen last year when loads of sites crashed and customers were left frustrated and disappointed. Even though we were fortunate enough not to have experienced any problems, we want to be 100% confident in customer satisfaction. We need to be prepared for the high volumes of traffic to our site at all times but especially on and around 23rd of November.

"According to Salesforce, 42% of Black Friday orders in 2017 were placed on a smartphone with only 49% from a desktop or laptop computer," says Hammerschmidt. "This reinforces the fact that mobile shopping is on a growth trajectory. Consumers now shop wherever they are, 24/7. With the incredible bargains offered on the Secret Sale and Black Friday, we need to anticipate dealing and processing thousands of transactions efficiently and quickly. We cannot take anything for granted, everyone needs to be on standby – starting with this rigorous test."