The BCG study is based on surveys of roughly 12,000 North American consumers including 10,000 who have made purchases online. The poll was conducted during the fourth quarter of last year. The BCG study found that, on average, consumers expected a site's home page to load within 13.2 seconds. They expected to be able to find a product within 5.8 minutes, to complete an online order form within 4.5 minutes, and to receive shipments within 6.4 days. Retailers can take heart that 57 percent of Internet users have shopped online and 51 percent have purchased goods or services.
Consumers tend to have favorite sites.
The study showed that most users visit less than 10 sites on a regular basis. BCG consultant David Pecaut cautioned that sites must recognize that today's average user is not very experienced and that many Internet shoppers are amateurs. Inc. All rights reserved. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc.