Survey finds time of the essence online this Christmas, as website and app performance and availability proves key to seasonal success
Survey finds time of the essence online this Christmas, as website and app performance and availability proves key to seasonal success
Almost four in ten (38%) online shoppers abandon websites or apps that take more than 10 seconds to load, and nearly half (45%) then turn to the competition to make their purchases.
That’s according to a new survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted by independent researchers OnePoll and commissioned by Rackspace Hosting, which as a result said UK retailers need to make sure their websites and apps are up to speed this Christmas shopping season.
Convenience trumps bargains online
Although 59% of respondents said they used shopping online as a way to find cheaper prices, it is the convenience of online shopping that was seen as the key benefit by 70% of them. The study also indicated that a quarter of Britons (25%) who shopped online last Christmas experienced problems, highlighting the need for retailers to provide a good online experience this festive shopping season.
Fabio Torlini, vice president of cloud at Rackspace, said: “Our study shows that 90% of the UK adults we surveyed plan to buy at least some of their Christmas presents online, but over a third of busy shoppers will be gone in 10 seconds if they have to wait for websites or apps to load. This means that retailers need to prepare their web-based store fronts for surges in demand by having the right cloud hosting service in place – especially if they offer discounts and other deals, which may instantly attract masses of bargain-hungry online shoppers.”
Rackspace’s study also found that cash-strapped Britons were on the hunt for deals this year, with 68% seeking special offers, and 24% waiting for the right offer before making their purchases. Group buying deals emerged as the way for almost one in five bargain-hunting Britons (19%) to save.
Over a quarter (27%) of those looking for a deal said they planned to use mobile app voucher codes. Almost one in every five (18%) shoppers also said they planned to use their smartphone in store to scan a product’s barcode to compare prices online before making their purchasing decision. A similar proportion (19%) intended to use their smartphones to scan quick response (QR) codes and access promotional offers from retailers.
Online winning more consumer spend
In addition, Rackspace’s research indicated that e-commerce and m-commerce will grow dramatically this Christmas compared to last year, with nine out of ten UK adults (90%) planning to purchase at least some of their presents online in the lead up to Christmas. This represents an 18% increase, or 8.7 million more people, on last year’s total of 72%.
M-commerce is growing too, with almost one in four (23%) intending to buy a Christmas present online using a smartphone or tablet. This is a 6% increase on last year, and represents an additional 2.9 million people.
Books are set to be the most popular online Christmas purchase, with 43% of those surveyed planning to buy them. They were followed by DVDs and games (42%), clothes and accessories (40%) and electrical goods such as cameras and laptops (33%) – the latter indicating a growing trust in online shopping as a way to purchase ‘big ticket’ items.
