For online retailers, Cyber Monday marks a day of increased traffic, high sales, and heightened brand awareness. But when men’s apparel online retailer Bonobos had their site crash on Cyber Monday, they suffered damaging results. Zaelab provided digital advisory services and solutions to ensure that this would never happen again.
Cybercrash airs Bonobos dirty laundry
Apparel brand Bonobos experienced one of the worst fates possible for an online retailer: on Cyber Monday, the Bonobos website crashed.
Under the heavy weight of traffic during one of the most anticipated shopping days of the calendar year, Bonobos was unavailable. Not only did the retailer lose out on significant sales, but their reputation also took a hit, calling into question the retailer’s credibility. The Bonobos chief technology officer needed guidance and support from a digital advisory to understand what went wrong, and how this could be avoided in the future.
Digital experiences need to be seamless across all channels. Nearly 20% of Cyber Monday sales were made on a smart device last year, at over a$120 average order price.
Zaelab steps in to help Bonobos
Bonobos called upon Zaelab to help with the situation. After explaining what had happened on Cyber Monday, Zaelab knew a swift plan of action would be required. The digital advisory called on its advisory and execution services and recommended a four-step approach to improve the Bonobos site:
- Architectural Analysis
Zaelab performed an architectural analysis of the Bonobos site in order to understand how the brand was using the current system. This allowed the digital advisory to provide Bonobos with insightful and relevant recommendations. - Cloud-Based Transition
Zaelab implemented a scalable, cloud-based platform that could adjust to the ebbs and flows of traffic throughout the year so performance of the site would not be compromised. - Platform Tune-Up
In order to ensure that all functions would run efficiently, the Zaelab team conducted a platform tune-up. - New Features & Flexibility
Finally, Zaelab added new features and flexibility to the site that would meet user expectations and trends, ultimately driving more business for the brand.
Cyber Monday one year later: Bonobos thrives
The next Cyber Monday, one year from the crash, Bonobos had the biggest single day in the history of the brand. The platform was tested at 16 times the projected load for that day and increased sales by 17%. The successful collaboration between Zaelab and Bonobos also enabled the brand to overcome a backlog of feature implementations and enabled the company to increase their overall capacity.
The Bonobos platform was tested at 16 times the projected load and sales increased by 17%.
“That was our goal the whole time,” says Klein, “to not just meet market needs, but also anticipate them. With our advisory approach and implemented solutions, Bonobos was able to handle more traffic than what was anticipated the following year. And that’s a win for everyone.”
