Web performance is for life, not just for Christmas

10/01/2012 09:00:00

"Gap between ‘the best and the rest’ must be closed

• Performance data for leading e-tailers reveals gap between top ten and rest of field
• Swift download speeds throughout the Christmas period – but what about the rest of the year?

As shoppers continue to stay away from the high streets, many retailers’ online functions were a lifeline for Christmas trading figures.
 
Site Confidence, completes a quarterly Online Retail Report measuring the performance of the UK’s top 50 e-tailers. The Q4 data sheds new light on online retailers’ festive period. The UK’s leading e-tailers achieved record download speeds despite heavy online traffic, but a gap is apparent between the top ten businesses and the rest of the field.
 
If online shopping is to remain the saviour of major retailers, this gap must be addressed.
 
Site Confidence measured the download speeds of the top 50 online retailers from October 1st – December 31st 2011. Most e-tailers aim at download speeds for their webpages of no more than 6 seconds, using a 2 Mbps connection. Throughout 2011 retailers had failed tomeet this target, but achieved it during Q4, with average speeds of 5.2 seconds. However, the top ten e-tailers alone did far better, with average speeds of 4.33 seconds.
 
Bob Dowson, director at Site Confidence, comments: “The Christmas trading figures are proving how important online retail is.
 
“The so-called ‘death of the high street’ is a recurrent theme, but if retailers with roots in physical stores want to take advantage of the online lifeline, they need to focus on the same old priorities of customer experience.
 
“There are two problems. Firstly, too many sites are still only paying attention to download speeds at the very end of the year.Effective web performance is about consistency, not ensuring efficiency for a select group of customers.
 
“Secondly, we’re in danger of a handful of e-tailers monopolising the field. The very top sites are noticeably faster and more consistent. If online shopping is to continue supporting the retail industry in a vibrant way, more retailers need to prioritise ease, efficiency and enjoyment of shopping, just as they would on the high street.” 
 
- 
Downtime
The average time websites spent down or in error was four hours 17 minutes, the highest figure for the year. However, the top ten again beat the rest, with average downtime of just 31 minutes.
 
Performance data (top 50 UK e-tailers)
01/10/2011 – 31/12/2011
Average downtime: 4 hours 17 minutes
 
Average download speed: 5.2 seconds (connection speed of 2 Mbps)
01/07/2011 – 30/09/2011
Average downtime: 3 hours 42 minutes
Average download speed: 6.08 seconds (connection speed of 2 Mbps)

Latest News