Digital.com Shows 1 in 2 Online Shoppers Will Abandon Their Carts If a Website Loads Too Slowly
Digital.com, a leading independent review website for small business online tools, products, and services, has published a new survey report that examines customer expectations and habits when shopping online. Research experts analyzed responses from 1,250 American adults who make online purchases.
According to the study, 53 percent of online shoppers expect the pages of e-commerce websites to load in 3 seconds or less. Specifically, 39 percent of respondents think web pages should load within 2-3 seconds, and 14 percent want pages to load in one second. Consumers are also more likely to leave a website if the pages load too slowly. Twenty-five percent of respondents say they will leave a page that does not load in 4-6 seconds, and 19 percent of shoppers will leave after 2-3 seconds of load time. Likewise, 8 percent of online shoppers will abandon a page after one second.
The survey also shows that slow loading websites are the primary source of frustration for shoppers. Consequently, 1 in 5 respondents say they are mostly dissatisfied when pages do not load fast enough. Other issues that lead to customer dissatisfaction when shopping online, include security concerns, confusing navigation, and sites not optimized for mobile devices. Twenty percent of respondents say they get frustrated if a website seems non-secure or lacks security features. Similarly, 15 percent of respondents get frustrated with websites that are difficult to navigate, and 15 percent also feel dissatisfied when sites are not mobile optimized.
Forty-six percent of customers are also likely to blame slow load times on companies that lack the necessary infrastructure to host a quality website. However, 44 percent of shoppers assume that slow loading pages have too many elements. Additionally, 32 percent of respondents think poor website speed is due to spam and malware issues. In contrast, 40 percent of consumers believe web pages load slowly because of their weak Internet connection.
“Online consumers have become accustomed to the fast load times and easy navigation that online giants like Amazon and Walmart provide,” digital marketing executive Huy Nguyen says. “These online marketplaces have invested heavily in providing customers with a frustration-free shopping experience. Other online businesses need to provide a similarly smooth experience, or they may lose potential customers.”
The report indicates that e-commerce sites with long loading times leave a lasting negative impression on shoppers. Forty-five percent of respondents say they have an unfavorable opinion about businesses with slow-loading pages. Comparably, 40 percent of shoppers are neutral about website speed, and 15 percent say they still view a business positively after a poor online experience. Website performance can also affect long-term sales and customer loyalty. Thirty-two percent of consumers say they are not likely to return to a site if they are disappointed with the shopping experience. Only 16 percent of respondents say they are very likely to return to an online business if they are unsatisfied during the first visit.
Digtial.com created and paid for this study, which was administered via the online survey platform Pollfish. On January 16, 2022, the survey was distributed to 1,250 adults across the United States and included a screening question to find appropriate respondents. Respondents were asked to answer all questions truthfully and to the best of their abilities. To access the complete report, please visit https://digital.com/1-in-2-visitors-abandon-a-website-that-takes-more-than-6-seconds-to-load/
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Digital.com reviews and compares the best products, services, and software for running or growing a small business website or online shop. The platform collects twitter comments and uses sentiment analysis to score companies and their products. Digital.com was founded in 2015 and formerly known as Review Squirrel. To learn more, visit https://digital.com/.