E-commerce Sites Risk Losing Millions over Christmas from Poorly Performing Websites
December 8, 2009 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) – Hosting specialists Hostway today warned that e-commerce sites risk losing millions of pounds from missed sales this Christmas if their websites aren’t well equipped for sharp increases in traffic. According to recent research from the Internet Measurement Research Group (IMRG), 93% of UK shoppers intend to buy at least some of their Christmas presents online this year, yet many sites may still not be prepared for the influx of visitors. This can lead to consumers having trouble loading web pages, completing transactions or even accessing sites in the first place.
“Despite this being an issue for years, many online retailers still do not prepare adequately for the extra traffic their sites receive during the pre-Christmas rush” said Neil Barton, director, Hostway. “Last December, shoppers spent £4.6 billion online, but there is a real danger e-tailers could miss out on revenue if shoppers leave sites due to their being slow or poorly performing. Just as stores on the high street hire extra workers at Christmas, so online stores should invest in extra infrastructure to cope with increased demand. With today’s sites containing so many images and videos, it is vital that they invest in traffic management and content caching solutions to ensure shoppers receive the best possible online experience.”
A study carried out by Forrester earlier this year found that people are now getting restless if e-commerce sites take longer than two seconds to load, as opposed to four seconds back in 2006. 40% of those questioned said they would abandon a web page if it took more than three seconds to load, and that is where e-commerce sites really risk losing money this Christmas period if they are unprepared for the heavy levels of traffic that might slow them down.
“With so much choice online, people are losing patience with under performing e-commerce sites. If customers are dissatisfied with their online experience on a particular site they will simply go elsewhere. It is not just an issue of losing money over Christmas. If e-commerce sites don’t fully prepare themselves for spikes in visitor numbers, 2010 could be an unhappy new year,” added Barton.
Hostway Worldwide
Hostway Corporation (www.hostway.co.uk) provides managed dedicated hosting and virtualisation services, domain name registration, web hosting, web design and online marketing services to 2 million customers and for over 1.4 million websites worldwide. Founded in 1998, Hostway is one of the world’s largest web hosting companies with a direct presence in 13 countries, 17 worldwide operation centres and more than 700 employees. Hostway’s mission is to reduce the complexity and cost of web-based technologies for small businesses and large enterprises alike.
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