Vancouver, B.C., Jan. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Unbounce , the leading landing page and conversion platform, today released findings from a study that examines the attitudes and behaviors of consumers and businesses towards the page load times on desktop and mobile devices. The 2019 Page Speed Report highlights how consumers react when they encounter a slow web page and what businesses and marketers are doing to address the need for fast pages.
“Today, everyone online expects to buy products, browse content, and find the answers to their questions with zero lag,” said Ryan Engley, Vice President of Product Marketing for Unbounce. “Unfortunately, as interactivity and media like video become more prevalent, the average web page size has increased , and so has the time that consumers have to wait for pages to load. It’s worst on mobile where the average web page has doubled in size over the past 3 years which means, according to Google , consumers now wait an average of 15 seconds for a page to load. Slow pages create a terrible experience and lead to fewer conversions.”
Since 2009, Google has been making the argument that page speed matters. They've launched tools that allow businesses to measure a website’s load time, they’ve made page speed a ranking factor in search results on desktop and mobile, and in 2017 they introduced Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) — an ultra-light standard for web pages designed to load in less than a second on a mobile device. Many industry professionals believe 2019 is the year fast pages will no longer be an option for businesses.
As part of The 2019 Page Speed Report , Unbounce surveyed 1150 online customers and marketers across the U.S. and Canada about their sentiment towards page speeds. Here are some of the key findings from the study:
Consumer Findings:
- 45.4 percent of consumers are less likely to make a purchase when they experience a slow loading website.
- 36.8 percent of consumers are less likely to return to an online retailer if they experience slow loading pages.
- 12 percent will tell a friend when they experience a slow loading site.
- Android users are more patient than iOS users. Of those who will wait for 1 to 3 seconds for a page to load, 64 percent were iOS users while only 36 percent were Android users. Of those who said they'd wait 11-13 seconds, only 36.2% were iOS users while 61.3% were Android users.
- East coast consumers are less likely to buy from slow sites compared to their West Coast consumer counterparts. Of consumers living in New York State, 82 percent admit that speed influences their decision to make a purchase, while of those living in the state of California only 60 percent agree that page speed influences their buying decisions.
Marketer Findings:
- 3 percent of marketers say faster loading times are their top priority in 2019.
- 73 percent of marketers think that improving page speed is either somewhat urgent or very urgent.
- 19 percent of marketers don't think load times have an influence on conversions.
- 57 percent of marketers have no current plans to implement Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP), while 23 percent are still considering it.
“Businesses need to keep the visitor in mind — their anxiety, their impatience, their near-unlimited options on the web,” said Andy Crestodina, co-founder of Orbit Media. “But fast pages are also important for people in less-developed countries with slow connections. They're even good for saving energy and protecting the environment . Businesses share in the common responsibility to make the internet work properly — keeping things lightweight and fast is a big part of that.”
Research Methodology
Unbounce ran two online surveys on the topic of page speed — one surveying online consumers via Google Surveys and the other surveying marketers via the Typeform survey platform. The online consumer study surveyed 750 respondents over the age of 18 years old across Canada and the U.S. about their online habits and sentiment towards slow pages on web and mobile. The marketer study surveyed 450 respondents who work in marketing and/or lead teams in marketing in Canada, the U.S. and Germany. We asked these respondents about how they’re prioritizing page speed and their knowledge of Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP). Both surveys were fielded in October and November 2018.
Download The 2019 Page Speed Report here .
About Unbounce
Unbounce gives marketers a way to build and test landing pages, website popups and sticky bars so they can get more conversions from their paid traffic and website without tech bottlenecks. As one of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies, Unbounce has powered over 350 million conversions to date and serves more than 15,000 customers worldwide including Vimeo, Hootsuite, The New York Times, World Vision, the Red Cross and many others. Founded in Vancouver, B.C. by six local entrepreneurs, Unbounce is a diverse and inclusive company employing over 160 people worldwide. Connect with our growing community of digital marketers at Unbounce.com and @Unbounce .
Sarah Gooding PR & Communications Manager, Unbounce sarah.gooding@unbounce.com
