Web Retailers - Slow or Unfriendly Sites Will Lose You Customers

Record numbers of online shoppers are expected this holiday season, but website performance is now more important than ever. 95% of online buyers would abandon a website they were buying from if its performance was not up to scratch. 55% would not even give the site a second chance, and would turn straight to competitors.

The SciVisum Christmas eCommerce Survey also showed that the number one reason for abandoning a website was sluggish loading and searching, cited by 78%. Three quarters (76%) said they would not wait more than a minute for pages to respond before abandoning a site; and a third (35%) would wait no more than thirty seconds.

The biggest annoyance for customers was complicated website registration processes, which 74% found irritating. There are still a surprising number of sites which require you to fill in a lengthy log-in/account registration form before you can even consider buying!

These issues are vital at Christmas time, when there are many more online shoppers; and most people are trying to shop quickly, lacking much patience.

Another common annoyance is incompatibility with internet browsers such as Firefox, Opera and Safari. Many websites (including those of major international companies) are designed using code that does not display properly on these browsers; meaning that they cannot buy from you. A few small code adjustments could mean the difference between welcoming and turning away lots of your potential customers.

Although Firefox users only average 5-10% of internet users, you need to remember that these are usually the web savvy visitors; and are therefore much more likely to be buying online.

During the busy Christmas period, it is vital to ensure your site works properly. If you think your site is at risk of running slowly or failing then you need to see what action you can take to reduce the risk of customers going elsewhere.

posted by The Editor @ 10:17 AM