Top 4 load tests to run pre-holidays

Test the most common user journey, most often the browse-to-purchase

“This can be done by using “virtual users” to test the different workflows that an individual shopper may take. Stress test this and make sure it is absolutely rock solid, making sure you know where it breaks under load and plan accordingly. This can be from the home page, to search, to a specific item, to the shopping cart and back to make sure there are no specific web pages that do not load at all or load slowly,” said Michael Sage , Chief Evangelist, BlazeMeter.

Test the shopping cart and check out

“This is the biggest one, because this is where the majority of abandonment will happen. If a shopper gets all the way to the shopping cart with no issues and is ready to pay but all of a sudden the page won’t load, it is so easy for the shopper to go to a competitor where they can get the same product from a working website,” said Sage.

Test the mobile app

“Omnichannel is becoming a bigger factor in holiday shopping, and it is estimated by Deloitte that 78% of shoppers will use a mobile phone to help with shopping. While testing website, also make sure that your app and mobile-optimized sites are able to handle the inevitable increase in traffic from holiday shoppers,” said Sage.

Test new promotions and launches

“Overestimate the traffic for these because there is no historical data to work off of and benchmark from, it is good to over test those journeys to make sure they can handle the increased traffic,” said Sage.