The rise in site speed is causing a delay in website load time, which can lead to an increase in consumer abandonment and affect online sales.
This finding was revealed at the iMedia Online Retail Summit last week.
Consultancy Practicology undertook an independent study of over 30 leading Australian retail brands and more than 10 million sessions over a month.
It showed that the average site speed is 5.5 seconds, an alarming 64 per cent below the standard expectation of optimal load time speed of 2 seconds.
Various studies by Econsultancy, Akamai & Gomez, QuBit have shown that each additional second of page load time can decrease conversion by 7 per cent.
Site speed is a key metric for conversion; the online world is all about convenience and speed is a big factor in that seamless experience online.