When every second counts, support failures cost more than lost sales—they erode trust, reputation and future loyalty. Imagine this: It's December’s first Monday, your holiday promotions launch and orders spike. Suddenly, checkout slows. Customers leave carts behind, the support queue grows, and by the time the issue is resolved, opportunity and goodwill are already gone.

The real-world impact of inadequate support during the holidays is clear—and it carries a massive price tag:

• A one-hour outage at Amazon can result in an estimated $34 million in lost sales, demonstrating just how unforgiving peak season can be for even the largest players.
• During Singles’ Day, a 20-minute crash cost Alibaba billions, disrupting what should have been the year’s most profitable sales window.
• On the global stage, top 2,000 companies average $200 million in annual downtime costs, with nearly half reporting hourly losses exceeding $1 million.
• In retail specifically, the risk is even sharper—annual downtime costs have soared to an average of $287 million, and 77% of consumers will abandon a site without buying if they encounter errors.

Industry-wide, these failures are not rare. In 2022, a major U.S. apparel retailer lost an estimated $5 million in just three hours of checkout downtime on Cyber Monday. The bottleneck led to thousands of abandoned carts and a 14% drop in conversion rate for the week. 

In the 2019 holiday season, a leading electronics retailer experienced a system outage during Black Friday. Customer complaints erupted on social media, and trust eroded—affecting repeat purchases for the next two quarters.

The reality is simple—peak season intensifies every risk. Throughout most of the year, an hour’s delay in support is a minor frustration. During the holidays, it’s a direct hit to your revenue and standing with customers. The stakes are higher: Volumes surge, timelines shrink and even minor glitches can snowball into major problems. Industry data shows that each hour of downtime during peak can cost hundreds of thousands—sometimes millions—in lost revenue alone.

You can’t predict every disruption, but you can control your response. That starts with the support model you choose.

Moving from reactive to proactive support

Most businesses are used to reacting to issues as they arise, fixing problems after they've already started costing time and money. But in peak season, that approach simply isn't fast enough—or safe enough. Proactive support is about anticipating risk, not just responding to it. It’s continuous: Keeping an eye on systems around the clock, identifying small weaknesses before they become major outages and preparing teams to take action ahead of surging demand. 

The real value comes from a shift in mindset: Treating support not as a last-minute fix, but as part of a broader risk mitigation strategy. When teams invest in readiness—through monitoring, vulnerability assessment and regular review—they're able to reduce the likelihood of crises and limit the damage when something does go wrong. Ultimately, proactive support means fewer surprises, more reliable operations and greater confidence that your business will keep moving even when the pressure is on.

What best-in-class support looks like over peak

Here’s what separates industry leaders:

• A dedicated team, focused solely on your business—available day and night
• Rapid resolution for critical issues, with turnaround measured in hours, not days
• Preseason health checks and a Peak Preparedness Report to eliminate vulnerabilities before they cost you
• Proactive monitoring of business and technical KPIs to protect solution stability.

This is not your everyday support—it’s an elevated safety net, providing confidence and control when demands are highest.

Flexibility is everything during the busiest stretch of the year. A support strategy that adapts to peak demand—scaling up when volumes spike, then right-sizing as things normalize—gives you the agility to protect revenue and maintain customer trust without overcommitting long-term resources. By aligning your support intensity with business cycles, you ensure expertise and rapid response are always on hand, right when they’re needed most.

Don’t leave peak to chance

The holiday rush is coming—fast. Every aspect of your operation will be tested. Investing in the right support can mean the difference between leading the market or playing catch-up. Blue Yonder offers White Glove–Peak Flex Support to help you navigate peak season with confidence. You can upgrade your coverage for a fixed 12-week period during your busiest stretch—no long-term commitment required. Connect with your account manager today to secure dedicated, specialist support when you need it most. Give your critical operations the protection and focus they deserve—exactly when it matters most.