New Relic report reveals retailers are turning to observability amidst AI adoption

New Relic published its Observability Forecast for Retail & eCommerce report, detailing how retailers are leaning on observability to keep digital experiences running smoothly and meet rising customer expectations. The report, based on a survey of 147 retail and consumer engineering leaders and IT team members, shows that the median hourly cost of a critical business outage is $1 million. While still a significant hit to retailers, the cost is notably half the $2 million median hourly cost experienced by other industries. The State of Observability for Retail & eCommerce report is based on data from New Relic’s 2025 Observability Forecast. 

IT outages cost retailers both time and money 

In high-stakes moments like Black Friday or Cyber Monday, every minute of downtime will have major consequences. The report found that nearly 1 in 3 retailers experience critical outages weekly. The cost of outages goes beyond lost ...