Nine out of ten prospective customers would switch to a competitor's page if a company's website failed to load swiftly, a new survey has revealed.
The research by 1&1 Internet revealed that, worryingly for small businesses, customers are becoming increasingly technology-savvy and now demand high standards in order to be encouraged by a firm.
The survey of some 1,600 UK consumers found that nearly 80 per cent of people said that slow website loading was a major irritation while 63 per cent of consumers said that they would automatically source a rival company's website if they came upon an error message on a business's homepage.
Andreas Gauger, CEO of 1&1 Internet, said: "It is no surprise how strongly consumers feel about poorly performing websites when they suffer significant stress from using them.
"As users become more dismissive of slower sites, SMEs must ensure that their market has instant access to their products and services."
