More and more internet marketers are using mobile devices to reach customers—and understandably so. Mobile penetration is increasing sharply and today a substantially large number of smartphone users use their mobiles not only to stay connected but also to shop.
While most online marketers, if not all, agree that mobile is the future, many are still in the dark about what factors impact mobile experience. For instance, the majority of mobile marketers are unaware that speed is essential for delivering a good mobile experience.
Slow Website Speed Kills
The Hosting Tribunal found out that while 64% of mobile users expect sites to load in less than 4 seconds, the average site load time on smartphones is a dismal 22 seconds.
The disparity between mobile users’ expectations and what mobile marketers are offering them can only be attributed to the latter’s ignorance. While ignorance may be bliss in certain life situations, it can be your undoing in business.
For instance did you know that slow site load time negatively affects customer satisfaction?
A one second delay in page loading leads to 16% drop in customer satisfaction. Apart from affecting customer experience, slow speed leads to high bounce rate. 74% of mobile users will abandon a site that takes more than 5 seconds to load on their smartphones.
High bounce rate is bad for every business and even more so for an online store. If most of your viewers are leaving your e-store after opening just the first page, obviously your conversion rate will suffer.
Additionally, slow site page loading also leads to fewer repeat customers. Research reveals that 43% of customers who are unhappy with their mobile shopping experience will shop at a competitor’s site next time.
As you can see a slow mobile site can destroy your online store. But at the same time, if you can manage to improve your page loading time, you can gain a big competitive advantage over your competitors.
Remember we said above that an average mobile site takes 22 seconds to load? Chances are that many of your competitors have slow sites. Now, see this figure in conjunction with the previous fact. If your site is fast, your competitors’ loss can become your gain.
Want to know more about how speed impacts an online business? Have a look at this action-packed infographic.
