Christmas case study: Firebox.com

The CTO of the online retailer describes how it copes with demand peaks over the Christmas period, and why the firm has decided to stay out of the cloud

Despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, the UK population is likely to spend £13.4bn online in the run up to Christmas, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

That peak in demand puts huge pressure on the most popular online retailers who want to capture as much of that market as possible, but may not want to pay for the capacity necessary to cope with the Christmas rush all year round.

According to retail technology specialist, Torex, retail websites have about three seconds to respond to users' requests before they assume the site is dead and move on.

Firebox

Firebox is an online retailer offering ‘boys' toys' such as ski goggles with an integrated HD video camera, and Star Wars jedi bath robes. It processes 1.8 million unique visitors in an average month, but may process more than ten times that figure over the Christmas period.

According to CTO Paul Wright, the company spends the entire year planning for this time. "Firebox works throughout the year to prepare for the fourth quarter. Each department, from buying to operations, plans ahead to ensure that all our systems are in place and that each area runs like clockwork,' he said.

"We also have a proactive program that profiles all aspects of our site to identify potential bottlenecks; this allows us to focus our optimisation efforts before they become an issue."

Firebox outsources its online payment requirements to Paypoint.net, which Wright explains gives him one fewer headaches at peak periods: "System reliability, security and delivery are key for Firebox all through the year, not just Christmas. PayPoint.net is vital for our business – especially during the busy period as the system is able to cope with fluctuating transactions.

"Not having to worry about the payments side of the business gives us peace of mind and allows us to focus on the core of our business."

New infrastructure helps with Xmas peaks

The firm's IT landscape has changed this year, as it has moved both its HQ and data centre. Wright explained that these changes are designed to help the site cope with the predicted spikes in traffic.

"We have recently moved to a new HQ in Shoreditch, which meant a wider review of equipment and subsequent upgrades. We also took the opportunity to move data centres – this has given us more flexibility and the ability to absorb traffic spikes at lower costs," he said.

"We continually evaluate new technology and software to extend the capacity of our existing equipment. This year we've introduced [open source enterprise search platform] Apache Solr to power product categories and site search, along with a number of caching strategies," he said.

Unlike other online retailers, Firebox does have to manage peaks, albeit smaller than those experienced at christmas, all year round.

"Due to the viral nature of our products, Firebox regularly experiences unpredictable traffic spikes. We built the site with this in mind, which pays dividends during the busy Christmas period, as well as regular high-traffic periods throughout the year," said Wright.

"Q4 is an important trading period for the retail industry, but we've also noticed an increase during other shopping periods, such as Valentine's day, Mother's Day, Father's Day and Halloween.

"Gadgets and tech products are still core to our business but, interestingly, sports and outdoors is a growing market for Firebox. The new year fitness resolutions and summer fitness are becoming growth periods for the site," added Wright.