Akamai Technologies, web application acceleration and performance management vendor has released key findings from a commissioned study into e-commerce website performance and its correlation with an online shopperÂ’s behaviour.  

Akamai Technologies, web application acceleration and performance management vendor has released key findings from a commissioned study into e-commerce website performance and its correlation with an online shopper’s behaviour.

The most compelling results reveal that two seconds is the new threshold in terms of an average online shopper’s expectation for a web page to load and 40% of shoppers will wait no more than three seconds before abandoning a retail or travel site.

Additional findings indicate that quick page loading is a key factor in a consumer’s loyalty to an e-commerce site, especially for high spenders. Over two thirds (79%) of online shoppers who experience a dissatisfying visit are less likely to buy from the same site again while 27% are less likely to buy from the same site's physical store, suggesting that the impact of a bad online experience will reach beyond the web and can result in lost store sales.

In 2006, Akamai conducted a similar study (www.akamai.com/4seconds) to understand consumer reaction to a poor online shopping experience. The 2009 study is a follow up to examine how customer expectations around online shopping have evolved in the past three years.

Based on the feedback of 1,048 online shoppers that were surveyed, Forrester Consulting also found that online shopper loyalty is contingent upon quick page loading, especially for high-spending shoppers. Over half (52%) of online shoppers stated that quick page loading is important to their site loyalty, up 12 % from the 2006 study.

It also found that shoppers often become distracted when made to wait for a page to load. Some 14% will begin shopping at another site and 23% will stop shopping or walk away from their computer, while retail and travel sites that underperform lead to lost sales. Another 79% of online shoppers who experience a dissatisfying visit are less likely to buy from that site again, up 17 percent from the 2006 study. A further 64% would simply purchase from another online store, up 16% from the 2006 study.

Mobile also emerges strongly as a shopping channel, and performance is a key to consumer adoption. While only 16% of consumers have shopped via mobile or smartphones, consumers are interested in using these devices for research and shopping activities in the future. One third of consumers report wanting to shop via their smart-phones in the future.

"The takeaway from this study is that site performance remains a major factor for keeping visitors coming back to a retail site. Online shoppers demand – and expect – quality site performance which is a requirement for optimal online success,” said Pedro Santos, chief e-commerce strategist at Akamai. "With two seconds as the new benchmark for a retail or travel site to load, it leaves little room for error to maintain a company's loyal online customer base."

To read and download a complimentary copy of the full study, please visit www.akamai.com/2seconds.

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