Three strikes and you're out! Research reveals UK consumers’ brand apathy and impatience with slow loading or unavailable websites

London, 28 April 2006 – The UK’s 37.8 million* internet users are a fickle bunch with only half of regular users (53.5%) claiming to have any loyalty to online brands and nine out of ten of us unwilling to give a website more than three chances to load up. The research, released today, by Europe’s foremost data centre services provider, TelecityRedbus also revealed that the top three reasons to move to an alternative website are poor customer service (70.8%), slow loading time (68.9%) and non-delivery on items ordered (68.5%).

• 30 seconds to impress – ¾ of consumers won’t wait longer than this for a site to load before taking their money elsewhere
• Next! - 89.5% of people would go to the competition if a website is unavailable
• Reputation, reputation, reputation - 85% of consumers claim that a business’ reputation is adversely affected by website downtime

The research, which questioned over 2000 people during March 2006 was commissioned by TelecityRedbus, and independently conducted by UK market research company, Tickbox. The results provide a detailed overview of the surfing habits of the UK’s online population and demonstrate just how integral a functioning and available website is to an online business’ reputation and its revenue.

The figures highlight the fact that almost three quarters of those questioned would not wait longer than 30 seconds before giving up on a business’ website and moving on to a competitor. With almost 90% of those questioned now enjoying broadband access the research suggests that the ‘on-demand’ mentality has crept into the nation’s surfing habits with fewer consumers than ever prepared to wait for the goods or information being searched for.

Mike Tobin, CEO of TelecityRedbus comments on the findings:
“The typical online business is competing against a vast number of alternative suppliers in a global marketplace. Compounding this is the fact that today’s online consumers are more internet-savvy than ever before. This research demonstrates unequivocally that ‘on-demand’ functionality is crucial to success - they are not prepared to wait or give a company another chance if they feel failed by its online shop window.”

The research also confirmed that the majority of the population is now very comfortable with online shopping and services. The majority of those questioned (85.5%) use the internet regularly to buy consumer goods while 70.5% search around for cost-effective holidays and trips abroad. Online banking is also among the most frequently sought out online service. 65.5% claim to make regular use of thisfacility while 63% of us turn to the internet in order to make the most of local government services.

While businesses might accept that immediate sales are lost due to website downtime, there are also long-term repercussions on the online consumers’ perception of the company and the brand. 85% of consumers claimed that their perception of a company is adversely affected by website downtime.

Tobin continues: “A company’s website being down for ten minutes is no longer a short-term problem –these responses show that by having an unavailable or slow loading website a company is missing out not just on immediate sales but also future revenue from frustrated consumers. The research demonstrates that now, more than ever, businesses need to ensure that their IT infrastructure provider is able to deliver resilient solutions to meet their requirements or lose out to their peers in the competition for online revenue. Presenting a website that is unable to deliver ‘on-demand’ is as good as pushing potential customers towards your competition.”

Ends

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