EXCLUSIVE: Site speed is a big deal to e-commerce shoppers
A new study reveals exactly how damaging slowly loading sites are for e-commerce retailers.
The recent survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers, exclusively released to Chain Store Age by Internet hosting company LiquidWeb, indicates that more than four-in-10 (43%) respondents said they get frustrated during a typical online shopping experience if a site takes longer than 10 seconds to load, with 22% saying they would abandon a site entirely after 10 seconds of not loading.
In addition, more than half (53%) of respondents said a website’s speed is a reflection of its brand’s quality. In more encouraging news for online retailers concerned about their site speed, half of respondents are willing to endure up to five poor website performance experiences before permanently losing trust in a brand, and only 12% value website user experiences more than product quality when it comes to brand loyalty for online shopping.
Financial impacts of slow sites
However, slow site speed can cost e-commerce retailers substantial lost revenues. Overall, 76% of respondents have abandoned a cart due to slow website speeds, and 39% have abandoned a cart valued over $100.
The average value of a cart abandoned due to slow site speeds is $65. During high-traffic events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, this value rises to $73.95. And more than half (55%) of respondents said they have switched to a competitor’s site when faced with delays.
Consumer response to poor site performance
After dealing with a slow site, respondents said they take the following steps:
- Complain via word-of-mouth: 57%
- Leave a negative review: 25%
- Post about the experience on social media: 18%
Other findings
- 73% of respondents will wait longer for a site to load if it’s from a brand they know and love.
- 72% of respondents would forgive website issues if they were buying a unique or highly desired product.
- Only 21% of respondents would trust a website struggling to load to handle credit card payments securely.
- 18% of respondents would think a slow-loading website is scamming them.
[READ MORE: 'Lost sales' due to poor customer experiences could hit $1.4T in U.S.]
Editor's Note: See more findings here.
