SAN MATEO, Calif., — November 27, 2006 — Keynote Competitive Research, the industry analysis group of Keynote Systems (Nasdaq: KEYN), reported that, as of 6:00 PM Eastern Time today, online shoppers generally experienced no performance issues from online retail Web sites following a very bumpy Black Friday for a few well-known retailers. While Black Friday is considered one of the busiest shopping days of the year in shopping malls across America, Internet analysts often point to the week following Thanksgiving, and particularly “Cyber–Monday” as among the busiest online shopping days of the season as consumers return to work in the holiday spirit and use the faster Internet connections of their office computers for holiday browsing and shopping.
Despite the anticipated traffic, Keynote, which measures and monitors performance of the leading retail Web sites, reported no major site outages or slowdowns which can impact online searches and purchases. Keynote had reported several sites as having significant performance problems on Black Friday (November 24th).
“In terms of what we are seeing on Cyber Monday, almost all of the major online retailers are performing very well. There have been no major issues, outages or slowdowns so far today, which is in stark contrast to what we saw on Black Friday. Cyber Monday is shaping up to be a much less volatile day,” said Ben Rushlo, senior manager of competitive research at Keynote.
Keynote uses its Transaction Perspective® 7.0 Web site performance measurement and monitoring service to collect data from 30+ leading retail sites to provide updates on the retail industry’s performance over the holiday season. Keynote collects hundreds of data points from each site on a [continual/hourly] basis and from 10 cities across the U.S., providing an up-to-the-minute barometer of online consumer experience. Keynote has announced that it will continue to monitor online retail performance and be available to media for analysis and commentary over the course of the holiday season.
On Black Friday, Keynote’s monitoring determined that several leading retailers experienced major outages, including more than 10 hours of downtime on the Wal-Mart Web site. Visitors to the sites recording such downtime or slowdowns would have received error messages or experienced significant slowdowns, with pages taking up to 8 times longer to download then normal. Slowdowns most typically affect the online search process or checkout process.
Wal-Mart.com had the most serious issues so far this holiday season, when their site experienced severe slowdowns beginning at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Black Friday. The site eventually became unavailable to the majority of users, with normal performance not being re-established until 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Macys.com also had a severe degradation in performance beginning at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Black Friday, with normal performance restored at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Keynote said it noted a spike in demand for the Amazon.com site driven by “flash traffic” to the site shortly after the online retailer announced a promotion for the sale of XBOX 360 on Thursday, Thanksgiving evening. However, Keynote reported that Amazon.com has performed exceedingly well in terms of performance – the speed and reliability of its site – over the course, so far, of the holiday shopping rush.
“Amazon.com has been virtually perfect over the last few days, with no performance slowdowns and only a small period of performance stress when the XBOX 360 promotion was occurring,” said Rushlo. “Amazon.com was clearly ready for the holiday rush.”
Keynote also noted that traditional retail companies seemed to be performing on par with the pure online retailers (or “e-tailers”) in terms of service level performance.
“For most online retailers it has been smooth sailing, but for those few with problems, they were among the most significant performance issues we have seen this year,” said Rushlo. “Although many consumers may not have directly experienced outages or slowdowns, retailers need to be vigilant because online shoppers are savvier than ever and any negative experience on a site can directly impact their likelihood to purchase.”
Keynote’s 2006 Online Holiday Shopping Indices are available for purchase. For more information on purchasing the indices please call 1 (800) KEYNOTE (539-6683).
Sites on Keynote’s apparel index include: Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF); Eddie Bauer (Nasdaq: EBHI); Foot Locker (NYSE: FL); Gap (NYSE: GPS); JC Penney (NYSE: JCP); JCrew; Macy’s (Federated Department Stores, NYSE: FD); Neiman Marcus; Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN); Saks Fifth Avenue (NYSE: SKS); Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD); Zappos.
Sites on Keynote’s books & music index include: AbeBooks.com; Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN); Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS); Borders (NYSE: BGP); Buy.com; Overstock.com (Nasdaq: OSTK); Target (NYSE: TGT); Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).
Sites on Keynote’s electronics index include: Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN); Best Buy (NYSE: BBY); Buy.com; CDW (Nasdaq: CDWC); Circuit City (NYSE: CC); Dell (Nasdaq: DELL); Office Depot (NYSE: ODP); OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX); Overstock.com (Nasdaq: OSTK); Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS); Toys R Us (NYSE: XKE); Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT).
Information regarding the methodology behind Keynote’s Web performance indices can be found at: www.keynote.com/solutions/performance_indices/retail/retail.html
For general information on Keynote’s Web performance indices view: www.keynote.com/solutions/mm_public_services.html
About Keynote Competitive Research
Keynote Competitive Research is the industry analysis group within Keynote that produces Web performance indices and ranking studies of Web site performance in the areas of service levels (responsiveness/reliability), customer experience and best practices implementation. The studies and indices produced are all available for purchase.
Keynote Competitive Research provides deep insights into an industry’s online best practices and how a particular Web site’s customer experiences and performance levels compare to key competitors. Keynote uses the world’s largest Internet test & measurement network and one of the most representative panels of Internet users to deliver data and insights on the end user experience. Keynote Competitive Research provides an online business with an in-depth understanding of its customers, competitors and markets. It helps an online business to determine the best strategies for gaining a competitive edge and accomplishing business goals.
About Keynote
Keynote Systems (Nasdaq “KEYN”) is the global leader in test & measurement solutions that improve mobile communications and online business performance. As an independent and trusted third-party, Keynote provides IT and marketing executives with an unbiased view into their Internet services from around the world. For over a decade, we have been providing measurement data and testing capabilities that allow companies to understand and improve their customer’s online and mobile experience. Keynote has four test and measurement businesses: Web performance, mobile quality, streaming & VoIP, and customer experience/UX. In addition, our industry analysis group called Keynote Competitive Research publishes proprietary studies measuring customer experience and service levels across a wide range of industries.
Known as The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority™, Keynote has a market-leading infrastructure of 2,400 measurement computers and mobile devices in over 240 geographic locations around the world. Keynote also maintains one of the most representative panels of online users consisting of 160,000 consumers. Our on-demand, hassle-free infrastructure allows businesses to access services they need, when they need them to pinpoint and fix mobile quality and Internet problems before they impact customers.
We help over 2,600 corporate customers become “the best of the best” by helping them improve online business performance and mobile communications quality. Our customers represent top Internet and mobile companies including American Express, BP, Caterpillar, Dell, Disney, eBay, ESPN Mobile, E*TRADE, Expedia, FedEx, Microsoft, SonyEricsson, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone.
Keynote Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California and can be reached at www.keynote.com or by phone in the U.S. at (650) 403-2400.
Keynote, The Internet Performance Authority and Perspective are registered trademarks and The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority is a trademark of Keynote Systems, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. © 2006 Keynote Systems, Inc.
Editorial Contacts:
Dan Berkowitz, Keynote Systems, (415) 518-7870, dan.berkowitz@keynote.com
Dan Cahill, Roaring Communications, (415) 552-3999, dcahill@roaringcommunications.com
