Aussie shoppers fume at slow online retail experiences: Report

The rise in popularity of online shopping has created a generation of consumers that are increasingly intolerant of websites that fail to deliver a smooth retail experience, according to new research.

A poll of 500 people by Roy Morgan Research, commissioned by IT hosting and cloud computing firm Rackspace, found that 90% of Australians who are online use the internet to purchase goods and services.

This ubiquity has seemingly bred impatience among shoppers, with 44% saying that they would leave a page if it takes more than 15 seconds to load.

After 30 seconds, seven in ten will give up, while, unsurprisingly, 90% will depart if the load time takes more than a minute.

As for positive drivers of online shopping, 83% cited convenience as a key benefit, while 71% identified price.

A further six in ten enjoyed using the internet for price comparison, while 47% identified a wide variety of products and services for driving them online.

Despite the growing enthusiasm for online shopping, and the intolerance of poor eCommerce performance, surprisingly few Australians appear to be using apps and smartphones for purchases.

More than 85% of respondents say they use their home PC for online shopping, with Australians half as likely as their UK counterparts to use an app or smartphone to buy something.

Interestingly, nine in 10 of those polled say they use the internet to shop for themselves, rather than other people.

“Our survey indicates that online shopping in Australia is going strong and most Australians have and will continue to purchase online in 2012,” says Mark Randall, country manager of Rackspace Australia and New Zealand.

“Online shopper’s loyalty is largely driven by convenience, variety and pricing. But, get one thing wrong and you could quickly lose them to your competitors.”