Survey Says: Slow Web Page Load Time Hurting B2B Vendors
It’s no secret that consumer expectations regarding their online experience have risen over the past few years. They want information, they want it now, and if you aren’t giving it to them in that manner, they’ll simply go someplace else.
This is exactly what we found when we conducted research for our 2014 B2B Web Usability Report (Stay tuned! The full survey results will be released next month). Of the total B2B buyers surveyed, 66% said a slow site would cause them to leave the site immediately. Can you imagine losing 66% of your visitors before they even see your content? Yikes!
The good news is that while the majority of our respondents said they would leave a slow site, they were much more forgiving on what “slow loading” means than the average visitor (8-10 seconds versus 3 seconds). They weren’t however very forgiving on having to wait beyond those 8-10 seconds:
- “I have no tolerance for slow loading sites.”
- “I live in a world of instant gratification, if your site is slow to render, I’m out!”
- “Slow loading is the greatest sin. B2B buyers do no have time for hourglasses.”
- “I wouldn’t wait for a company site I’m not familiar with.”
Consumers simply don’t want to wait for information that may or may not be what they are looking for…and it’s effecting the bottom line. Along with the effect on abandonment rates, a slow loading site can have detrimental effects on conversion rates.
According to a Radware study, “A site that loads in three seconds experiences 22 percent fewer page views, a 50 percent higher bounce rate, and 22 percent fewer conversions than a site that loads in one second, while a site that loads in five seconds experiences 35 percent fewer page views, a 105 percent higher bounce rate, and 38 percent fewer conversions.”
This isn’t the first study we’ve seen showcasing the negative effects a slow site can have on the bottom line and it certainly won’t be the last. Businesses need to make sure visitors are being met with an optimal experience and must make fast load times a priority.
To check the load time of your site, we recommend checking out the following:
These tools can tell you both how your site is performing and suggest areas of improvement.
B2B Buyer Survey Results
Site performance was just one of the few elements we covered in our B2B buyer survey. The full survey will be available for download in March. To be notified about the survey release, please contact me at casieg [at] komarketingassociates.com, via @CasieG on Twitter, or make sure to follow @KoMarketing on Twitter for updates as well.
Also be sure to check out Dianna Huff’s latest post, “Survey Says: Testimonials Give B2B Vendors Credibility” as she looks at another interesting finding from our 2014 B2B Web Usability Report.