New Study Commissioned by Yottaa Shows Site Speed is Critical to Online Merchants

Yottaa released a new research report titled, “2021 Retailer Website Performance Evaluation: Lost Revenue Opportunities Continue.”

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The study was conducted by Retail Systems Research (RSR) and evaluated 80 major retail websites based on their site speed performance and shopper experiences. Over 1,000 consumers were also surveyed about their perspectives on eCommerce site performance for this report.

This report again highlights how site speed is such an important factor when operating an online store. While some online stores like Amazon may be able to get away with slow sites, other brands need site speed to keep consumers engaged in their eCommerce site.

Top 3 Overall Rankings

Based on criteria for both site speed and shopper experience where a full range of 0-3 points was available across 22 different categories, the following retailers took top honors (all scores are of 65 possible points):

1. J. Crew – 54 points
2. Lands’ End – 50 points
2. Fashion Nova – 50 Points
2. Ascena Retail Group (LOFT) – 50 Points
2. Express – 50 Points  
3. Ralph Lauren – 49 points
3. 1 800 Contacts – 49 points 

Top 5 Fastest Loading Retail Sites

1. 1 800 Contacts
2. Groupon Goods
3. Brownells
4. Forever 21
5. Lands’ End

Key eCommerce Trends

• Fast site speed is critical to growing online revenue. Improving page load time by just 1 second results in a 5.7% conversion lift on mobile and a 3.3 conversion lift on desktop.
• eCommerce sessions that take less than four seconds capture 59% of conversions, while sessions that trail four seconds deliver a near-identical 58% of bounces.
• Some brands are getting site performance right. Others are making some slow progress. However, many brands are way behind in this regard.
• Retailers are paying more attention to site design – both on mobile AND desktop.
• Many retailers aren’t adequately addressing poor online shopper experience.

Key Consumer Survey Responses

• 76% of consumers do not start their shopping journey on a brand’s website but rather on Google or Amazon.
• 92% of online shoppers are frustrated with slow loading retail websites.
• 87% of shoppers will not wait for a slow site to load and they want sites to load in under 4 seconds.
•  If a site takes too long to load 53% of shoppers say they leave and buy from a similar brand and 39% leave and buy from Amazon.
•  67% of consumers shop via social media.

“Not only is there still an on-going global pandemic, but many shoppers will not return to in-store shopping, shipping and delivery efforts are in shambles, and the global supply chain has become completely unhinged. As chaotic as the retail landscape has become, there are still vital online shopping elements that brands have total control over, such as their digital shopping journey and site performance. This report highlights the immediate need for brands to make the online shopping journey as effortless as possible from site speed to the ease of product discovery, to the checkout process and payment options – all in a perpetually scalable way.”

RSR Analyst Statement

The full RSR report sponsored by Yottaa is available here.