Logicalis US to Retail CIOs: The Time to Ready eCommerce Infrastructures for the Holiday Shopping Season is Now

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The economy may be recovering slowly, but projections for ecommerce spending are climbing quickly as the holiday season approaches.  In fact, studies show that ecommerce spending will total $61.8 billion in November and December 2013, an increase of 15 percent over 2012's estimated $53.7 billion.  Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services provider (www.us.logicalis.com), says now is the time for retailers to make sure their websites and online ordering systems are in top shape for the holidays.  To illustrate the significance of having a technology infrastructure ready to meet the demands of the holiday ecommerce workload, Logicalis has created an informative infographic combining statistics from four* unique sources.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130828/MM71035LOGO-a)

"As shoppers turn more and more to the Internet to research purchases and to complete their buying transactions, retailers' ecommerce sites have grown significantly in importance, making them business-critical systems that these organizations quite literally cannot afford to have down," says Julie Spiller, Senior Director, Vertical Solutions, Logicalis US.  "Most retailers today have set aside resources to upgrade their ecommerce platforms before the shopping season is fully underway.  While the shopping season is nearly here, it's not too late to examine critical changes in ecommerce solutions and services for this year, and it's the perfect time for some long-range planning to strengthen ecommerce platforms for the years to come."

Eight Things Retailers Need to Know
87% - Growth in tablet-based online sales expected this year.
81% - Retailers that have dedicated resources to upgrade ecommerce platforms in anticipation of the holiday season.
$70.5K – The average amount of money every 15 minutes of web site downtime costs a retailer.
62.5% – Retail ecommerce sales from tablets are expected to total $26 billion in 2013, 62.5 percent of all mobile-based ecommerce sales.
60% - Number of retailers that have significantly increased in-store data collection and analysis compared to two years ago.
52% - Midsize retailers that can tolerate no more than a single hour of downtime for their mission-critical data and applications.
46% - Retailers that continue to make significant investments in SEO and SEM technology.
16% - U.S. retail ecommerce sales from mobile devices are expected to reach $9.8 billion in November and December this year, accounting for 16 percent of the overall ecommerce market.

*Sources:

http://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/blog/10885/The-High-Cost-Of-Internet-Downtime-for-Retailers-infographic
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1112913411/retailers-cautiously-optimistic-for-2013-holiday-season-mobile-and-strategic/
http://www.internetretailer.com/2013/09/05/online-holiday-forecast-sales-will-increase-151
http://blogs.verisigninc.com/blog/entry/tips_to_protect_ecommerce_website

Want to Learn More?

• Take a look at Logicalis' informative retailer technology infographic here: http://www.ict-log.us/qoxQU.
• Retail software providers are seeing tremendous opportunities with software-as-a-service delivery models; download a free eBook – "Ready to Transform Your Retail Solution Business?" – to learn more here: http://www.ict-log.us/qkDJL.

About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international IT solutions and managed services provider with a breadth of knowledge and expertise in communications and collaboration; data center and cloud services; and managed services.

Logicalis employs nearly 3,500 people worldwide, including highly trained service specialists who design, specify, deploy and manage complex ICT infrastructures to meet the needs of almost 6,000 corporate and public sector customers.  To achieve this, Logicalis maintains strong partnerships with technology leaders such as Cisco, HP, IBM, CA Technologies, EMC, NetApp, Microsoft, VMware and ServiceNow.

The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.4 billion from operations in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific and is fast establishing itself as one of the leading IT and Communications solution integrators specializing in the areas of advanced technologies and services.

The Logicalis Group is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg and London AIM Stock Exchanges, with revenues of over $5 billion.

For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.

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Media contacts:
Lisa Dreher, VP, Marketing & Business Development,
Logicalis US
[email protected]
425-201-8111
www.us.logicalis.com

Karen Franse, Communication Strategy
Group for Logicalis US
[email protected]
866-997-2424
www.gocsg.com

SOURCE Logicalis US