Australian websites are reportedly performing at the slowest rate in the world this Christmas.
Data obtained by digital performance monitoring company Dynatrace reveals that Australian consumers are waiting an average of 9.4 seconds for a website to load, compared with the US and UK average of around 3.8 seconds.
The company has been keeping tabs on 30 of Australia's largest retailers with dismal results.
The five slowest brands are averaging a response time upwards of 16 seconds.
Department store Myer is leading the pack with an estimated response of 2.9 seconds and 99.4% availability.
Dynatrace APAC head of marketing Dave Anderson urges Australian retailers to keep up with the global pace.
“Australia’s lag in performance is concerning but presents a big opportunity for local retailers to measure response times more closely and link it back to revenue.
Take a leaf out of Nordstrom’s book – it has measured that a mere 0.5 second slow down in site load time equates to an 11% reduction in site conversion.
This is precisely where local retailers need to focus internal conversations: looking at site performance and how it impacts revenue.
“Otherwise, they’re choosing to leave money on the table.”
The company said that retailers who are able to reduced their response speeds from eight to two seconds could see a whopping 74% increase in conversion.