Digital Plumbing: The Infrastructure Behind Online Shopping

The holidays are officially here, and that means a lot of people are shopping online. Each year, online shopping seems to occupy a larger share of holiday sales worldwide. For the 2024 holiday shopping season (November 1 to December 31), online sales reached $1.2 trillion globally and $282 billion in the U.S. This represents a 3% global year-over-year (YoY) increase and a 4% YoY increase in the U.S.[1] For consumers, though, online shopping isn’t about statistics; it’s about convenience. You can shop for gifts online anywhere, anytime, whether you’re relaxing at home after work or passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. There are no crowds to deal with, no lines to wait in and no need to check store hours.

Because online shopping is all about convenience, consumers have very low tolerance for friction and expect fast, high-quality service. If someone is shopping a limited-time sale for a hot item on Black Friday or bidding in a competitive eBay auction, poor user experience can create significant frustration, whether it’s because of long loading times or technical issues.

When you, as a shopper, open a retail website or mobile app this holiday season, you want to quickly and easily find what you need, receive helpful, personalized recommendations and place your order without any issues. Making that happen requires the right physical and virtual IT infrastructure and a well-connected ecosystem of technology providers, from clouds to network service providers to payment platforms. As with other everyday digital experiences, like streaming music, rideshares, video calling and even watching cat videos, IT infrastructure is a key enabler. Without it, no one would be shopping online.

In just a few decades, e-commerce has transformed how we shop

E-commerce, the industry term used to describe transactions that happen on the internet, has been evolving for more than thirty years. It began with widespread adoption of the internet in the 1990s. Both the Amazon bookstore and eBay launched in 1995, and payment systems like PayPal emerged later that decade.

E-commerce 1.0 took off in the early 2000s, in what’s often referred to as the “dot com” era when companies first developed websites to sell their products. In the mid-2000s, e-commerce platforms like Shopify appeared, helping smaller businesses sell online. Digital marketplaces like Etsy and Alibaba Taobao also launched that decade, and online search and advertising began to grow.

In the 2010s, e-commerce 2.0 entered the scene. The smartphone revolution brought mobile shopping to the world, and the growth of social media led to another consumer sales channel. Cloud computing became vital in helping companies scale their e-commerce infrastructure more easily.

The third wave of e-commerce is characterized by omni-channel retail experiences that integrate mobile, online and offline customer experiences. At every stage of the evolution of e-commerce, technology has played a vital role. IT infrastructure will be more important than ever in delivering the promise of omni-channel retail and whatever else the future might bring.

Behind the scenes of a typical online retail experience

You probably don’t think much about servers or network cables when you shop online, but fast, seamless transactions are only possible if retailers have the right infrastructure in place.

Here are the typical steps happening backstage in an online shopping transaction:

• When a shopper opens an application on their phone or goes to a retail website, an HTTPS request is sent from the user’s device to the application frontend, which typically includes network security services like firewalls, proxies, intrusion detection systems and an API gateway.
• The shopper’s data travels through an internet service provider (ISP) or mobile network into the retailer’s corporate network via an internet exchange point. Internet exchanges are the backbone of the internet, a place where different ISPs connect and exchange traffic.
• Content distribution networks (CDNs) may also play a role in delivering web or application content to users quickly. They also provide network security services like DDoS protection before the shopper’s request hits the API gateway.
• To authenticate users and provide relevant recommendations, the application’s API gateway connects to various microservices for authentication, analytics, inventory management, recommendations and catalogue delivery. The application accesses data the retailer has collected on shoppers’ past purchase behavior, which enables them to show each shopper a custom catalogue. For example, if you’re shoe shopping at a store you use regularly, it’s likely they already have some information about what style, gender and size of shoe you usually prefer and can surface relevant options for you.
• Once a shopper decides which item to buy, the application triggers an ordering service, followed by a payment service and shipping service. The payment service might require access to external payment gateways. The shipping service may need access to third-party shippers, depending on the shipping location. It’s important to note that many retailers partner with third parties for services, which makes interconnected digital ecosystems an important aspect of the online shopping experience.

All the services described in this process are microservices within the retail application, and they all have their own storage. The services can be hosted in colocation or public clouds, so retailers almost always have a hybrid multicloud architecture. Microservices tend to use the best cloud for the job: Some are stronger in the data analytics that power recommendations, while others excel in application hosting because of their ability to scale during shopping surges. A software-defined network (SDN) fabric provides low-latency connectivity across the hybrid multicloud architecture.

What’s the role of data centers in online shopping?

Alongside clouds, ISPs and CDNs, data centers play an important role in online shopping, hosting vital infrastructure and serving as data aggregation points. Retailers use a mix of public clouds and private facilities, including on-premises and colocation data centers. Private infrastructure is crucial for storing sensitive data, ensuring data privacy and regulatory compliance.

Having infrastructure in the right places helps retailers ensure their websites and apps perform well. Global retailers need infrastructure in many locations to minimize latency and ensure optimal user experiences.

Colocation data centers also serve as aggregation points where retailers, networks, clouds and other service providers can exchange data in a neutral environment. Think of them like a shopping mall: They provide a building for a variety of different service providers. Both malls and colocation facilities cluster together services so that shoppers can have a smooth experience. Shopping malls need to be well-connected to public transportation, roads and trains; similarly, colocation facilities need to be well- connected to the rest of the digital world through ISPs, mobile networks and internet exchanges.

Delivering always-on shopping

As you can see, data centers play a key role in helping retailers deliver 24/7/365 online shopping. Colocation facilities like Equinix can help retailers deploy infrastructure in the right places to reach their customers. With 270+ data centers in 36 countries, Equinix has a presence wherever retail businesses need to be.

Equinix data centers serve as internet exchange points for data flowing to and from shoppers and all the players in the e-commerce ecosystem. At Equinix, retailers can connect to thousands of clouds, network services, content providers, digital payment platforms and more. Equinix Fabric® provides low-latency connectivity for retailers’ hybrid multicloud networks, and Equinix Internet Exchange offers peering for networks, content providers and large enterprises.

So, if you’re shopping online on Black Friday, Cyber Monday or any other time this holiday season, pause for a second to appreciate the hidden IT infrastructure that makes it possible. Your favorite retailers are very likely to partner with data center operators to ensure you have a frictionless shopping experience, even on the busiest shopping days of the year.

Retailers and e-commerce platforms can learn more about the value of high-performance data centers in High-Performance Data Centers for Dummies.

[1] Holiday Shoppers Spend a Record $1.2T Online, Salesforce Data Shows, Salesforce, January 6, 2025.