Woah there, where did summer go?

Summer holidays done, houses going quieter as the kids all back to school and although this weekend's rain had other ideas it's hopefully not quite the end of the sunshine just yet!

In this edition, we're excited to release our new and free QA & Testing Maturity Assessment, a look ahead to peak 2024 and more.

What's in this edition

• Assess your QA & Testing Maturity for free
• Blowing our own trumpet
• Out and about this autumn
• Peak is coming, you ready?
• Spike updates - online makeover and our Youtube channel

The new Spike Testing & QA Maturity Assessment

?Ready to break through your current testing maturity level but?not sure where to start??

Our assessment not only sheds light on hidden opportunities and likely challenges but also delivers concrete, actionable steps. By understanding your unique quality landscape, you'll be better equipped to unlock untapped potential, paving the way for faster and more reliable change delivery.

It's totally free, takes 10 minutes and gives you a clear heatmap of areas to think about and suggested next steps.

https://scorecard.wearespike.co.uk/maturity

Blowing our own trumpet

We're a modest bunch at Spike, often working diligently in the background to get your projects over the line. So it's always nice to see that Spike's NPS Score remains as high as ever with all our customers saying they would use us again. Even better to hear what they think about how we've helped them, here's a few of the new ones:

The Spike team has demonstrated exceptional commitment. Their approach fosters innovation and sets a benchmark for others to follow. - Project Manager, Lovehoney

Spike are always willing to suggest ways to overcome problems and accommodate our needs. Nice to work with! - Senior Project Manager - Ooni

Spike have been very flexible, going above and beyond to support us and providing valuable input to ensure we are set-up for success and achieve our delivery timelines. - Digital Programme Manager, Currys

Out and about!

It's not all life behind a laptop! Autumn conferences are heading our way so we're off to broaden our minds at those below and a few more. Let's grab a coffee and a chat.

eCom Collab Club??, London - 11th September 2024. Lovely morning event in the heart of the West End. In their words. REAL people and REAL talk - all things eCommerce.?More on their LinkedIn page .

eCommerce Expo - the biggest eCommerce event in the UK 18 - 19 September 2024 at ExCeL London. Sign up online here .

Re-Imagine?Summit,? 2nd October, 2024, 12pm - 5:30pm (after party until late) at Steel Yard, London. A jam-packed day dedicated to exploring the Future of Commerce. Join us on 2nd October, 2024 for a day of insightful sessions, engaging discussions, and unparalleled networking opportunities to fuel your business growth. Hear inspiring success stories from top retailers like In The Style, Everything5Pounds, Masters247, and Enlighten Smiles, and don't miss the chance to listen to our special guest renowned for their remarkable agility and speed. Click here to save your seat!

DTX London, 2nd-3rd October. Spanning two days, the event showcases the latest 'must have' technology?for enterprises including cloud and AI. Sign up here .

Manchester Tech Festival, a whole series of awesome tech events in fab Manchester locations from 28th October culminating in a two-day multi-stage conference, complete with Tech Expo, hosted on the 6th and 7th November at Victoria Baths. Get tickets online now .

From the archives: Peak Trading: Black Friday - Are you Ready?

It's coming up fast so we wanted to highlight a few areas we see retailers often forget about. Our passion is optimising peak trading performances because we know how key it is to protect and enable growth during this time, so here's our low down:

1. Prepare for more than just one peak: Customers start their search early, and competitors offer deals to attract their attention. While the official peak trading period is from November 24th to Cyber Monday on November 27th, the peak season now extends much longer. It's crucial to test your technology to ensure it can handle not only one busy weekend but also multiple "mini-peaks" over an extended period.
2. Get your site performing at its best: It's crucial to regularly assess and optimize load times, as they directly impact conversion rates. The speed at which your pages load is vital for a seamless customer experience, but make sure your site can handle heavy traffic. While solutions like queue-it can prevent temporary system failures, nobody wants to be stuck in an online queue when they can find the same deal elsewhere.
3. Keep up with the demand for your best-sellers: Our team works closely with retailers to ensure that warehouse stock levels are accurate fed into other key systems. We understand the importance of seamless integration between systems, and we prioritize performance and operational testing to ensure that your system effectively tracks and pulls data into your digital store. With our expertise, your inventory management is in good hands.
4. Showcase promotions: Make sure to prominently showcase the incredible savings at every step of the customer journey, from the beginning to the final purchase. It's crucial to avoid any misleading promotions that may cause frustration, so thorough testing of the integration feeds is vital to ensure a seamless experience.
5. Be clear on returns: 58% of shoppers check the returns policy before making a purchase. Ensure that it is clear and keep in mind that a positive returns experience builds loyalty in 59% of UK residents. Make sure your content team has implemented a seamless returns process.

?> Tackling these issues is a whole team challenge where marketing, user experience, technology, and software should all work hand in hand to support each element.

> Spike prepares large-scale retailers for peak periods with multiple safeguards and quality measures. So if it's the tech side you need help with, you know where to come!

Find even more tips on our performance page online here .

Ooh don't you look nice...

Online makeover

Our marketing experts have been tidying up the Spike website, we spend so much time helping clients that we often neglect our own pages! As well as a much needed palette and fonts refresh we've also given more clarity to the value we bring when you partner with us to ease your testing woes. Check out the updated look at www.wearespike.co.uk

Spike on Youtube

We've not quite gone for the heights of TikTok just yet, mainly as Darryl and Steve's kids would quick frankly be mortified! But we do have an official Youtube channel with a collection of previous videos and webinars. We'll soon be adding a series of shorts documenting some of our recent challenges with area like Playwright, Salesforce testing, and page speed. Subscribe here to get notified as new content comes out.

https://www.youtube.com/@spikeretail/

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