$4.3 Billion. Duh, Gavin... ;-)
Greg
Web Developer News
Study: E-Commerce Sales At Risk Over
Download Times
June 30, 1999
By George DiGiacomo
Associate Editor, ServerWatch
Web Developer News
Archives
"The Need for Speed", a report released Wednesday by Zona Research, said unacceptable
download times will put e-commerce sales at risk if online vendors do not heed the "eight
second rule."
The report examines how Web page loading times directly impact the ability to conduct
business over the Internet. According to the firm, the key benchmark companies must meet
is an eight-second Web page download time. Zona reported that more than a third of Web
users may simply give up trying to buy an item over the Internet when frustrated with an
online shopping experience.
Zona Research estimates users' frustrations could result in as much as $4.35 billion in
United States ecommerce sales being at risk each year due solely to unacceptable
download times.
Significant findings from "The Need for Speed" include:
Currently, 44.1 million people in the U.S. are online shoppers. An additional 37.5
indicated they will become new online users within the next 12 months.
Shoppers with 14.4-kilobit modems who are unable to load Web pages within eight
seconds represent at risk losses to vendors amounting to more than $73 million a
month in ecommerce sales.
An estimated $58 million a month in ecommerce sales will be due to Web page
loading failures.
$3 million is at risk monthly in the securities trading industry due to unacceptable
download times.
Over $2.8 million is at risk monthly in the travel and tourism industry because of
unacceptable download times.
The report summarizes Web user preferences and tabulates the economic impact of
"bailout rates." With the advancement of technology, the increase in Web traffic, and the
desire to place more visually appealing content on Web pages, the consequences of slow
load times could result in a significant loss of revenues for online vendors.
Zona's "The Need for Speed" report is available for $895. A summary and table of contents
are available here.
-- Greg Bolcer email: gbolcer@endtech.com web: http://www.endtech.com work: 714.505.4970 cell: 714.928.5476 fax: 603.994.0516