Report: 33% of online shoppers reported Web slowdowns during holiday season

Detroit A third of online shoppers had a bad experience on a retail Web site during the recent 2009 holiday shopping season and 15% found the problem to be “unacceptable,” according to a survey conducted by Equation Research on behalf of Gomez, whose services test and monitor the performance of Web sites.

These bad online experiences caused nearly one in five online shoppers to shop at another site. In general, 41% of online shoppers will only tolerate one or two bad online experiences before abandoning a retailer’s Web site, the report found.

“This survey confirms that consumers expect retail Web sites to perform well for them, regardless of how many other shoppers are also visiting the site,” said Matt Poepsel, VP performance strategies for Gomez. “It’s also clear that when shoppers encounter Web performance problems, their patience and loyalty run thin. Once a customer has left your site, chances are they are not going to give you a second chance -- and few retailers can afford to lose business this way.”

At stake is the $1,050 that each online shopper spends annually, according to the survey, with a significant amount of spending conducted during these peak times.

The survey will be published in full on Feb. 2.