Patience with online stores is severely limited

A third of all online shoppers wait no longer than ten seconds before switching to another online shop. A study by the networking company Brocade Communications shows that consumers have little patience with the speed at which a website is set up and that this can quickly cost retailers the Christmas business.

48 percent of consumers stated that they did not wait longer than 20 seconds for the page to open in an online shop before switching to another shop. However, 71 percent of those surveyed said they would want to spend more money compared to 2008, which is why the performance of a website is important. However, more than a third of consumers confirmed bad experiences with online shops and that they no longer want to use these shops in the future. The survey also shows how dependent buyers are on fast and reliable Internet connections.

“IT networks have not yet been associated with Christmas, but today they are very important for online buyers,” says Heiko Schrader, Regional Director Germany at Brocade. Sellers would therefore have to put more emphasis on the performance of their website. Customer loyalty would be the fastest website and the network would be a critical element for the success of a retailer.

When asked what particularly bothered online shoppers, 29 percent indicated slow Internet sites. Another 29 percent were angry about pop-ups. The fact that the majority of those surveyed said that they only used one to three online shops this year indicates additional challenges for online retailers and their technology. pte

www.brocade.com