A study has indicated that two seconds is the new threshold in terms of an average online shopper’s expectation for a web page to load and 40 percent of shoppers will wait no more than three seconds before abandoning a retail or travel site.

Published: 16 Sep 2009

A study has indicated that two seconds is the new threshold in terms of an average online shopper’s expectation for a web page to load and 40 percent of shoppers will wait no more than three seconds before abandoning a retail or travel site.

According to Akamai’s latest study, conducted by Forrester Consulting, consumers become impatient when pages take longer than two seconds to load. It added that 47 percent of consumers expect a web page to load in two seconds or less, representing a significant evolution in consumer expectation over the 2006 study, which showed customer expectations at four seconds or less.

Quick page loading is a key factor in a consumer’s loyalty to an e-commerce site, especially for high spenders.

Online shopper loyalty is contingent upon quick page loading, especially for high-spending shoppers. 52 percent of online shoppers stated that quick page loading is important to their site loyalty, up 12 percent from the 2006 study.

It added that 79 percent of online shoppers who experience a dissatisfying visit are less likely to buy from the same site again while 27 percent 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.

Site performance

The study also states that usability, site content and speed are key factors to online customer loyalty.

By taking the time to improve the overall site content and functionality, retailers can bolster the overall brand and image of their company. For example, adding rich, interactive and dynamic content to a retail site can help reflect the in-store experience for the consumer, which can lead to increased satisfaction and loyalty from the consumer.

Pedro Santos, chief strategist for e-commerce at Akamai, said, “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.”

Mobile

The study indicated that mobile is an emerging shopping channel, and performance is a key to consumer adoption. While only 16 percent 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 smartphones in the future.