Gone In Five Seconds! UK Businesses Risk Losing Customers To Rivals Due To Sluggish Online Experience

F5 Networks survey finds that 22 per cent of UK consumers only willing to wait 5 seconds for a website or app to respond before heading elsewhere

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• 31 per cent say they would not complete a purchase if the online experience was poor
• 82 per cent think website/app speed is crucial when interacting with a business
• A quarter (24 per cent) would tell others about their negative experience – further hampering loyalty and future custom
• Half of UK consumers concerned about mobile security; 51 per cent fear theft of personal data when using mobile devices

London, January 28th  — F5 Networks (NASDAQ: FFIV) announced today the findings of its latest digital experiences research, conducted amongst UK consumers.  It revealed an increasing demand for fast, reliable online and mobile services and the negative impact on brands that fail to deliver this.

Over a fifth (22 per cent) of the 2,000 respondents admitted they would switch to a rival brand if forced to wait five seconds for a website or app to respond. A significant 32 per cent report that slow website speeds, and security concerns will negatively affect their perception of a brand, and a quarter would report this experience to others.

In fact, security is increasingly a major worry for online customers. Over half (51 per cent) of those surveyed are concerned about the safety of personal data while using mobiles, a two per cent increase from last year.  90 per cent think “keeping my data safe” is either “quite” or “very important” when interacting with an organisation online, far outweighing those that valued regular social media engagement as the highest priority (37 per cent).

F5’s Software-Defined Application Services™ (SDAS) reduce the cost and complexity of deploying application services like mobility, security, availability and speed. This allows businesses to deal with changing customer habits and surges in demand - like Black Friday or during a DDoS attack - without costly downtime.

SUPPORTING QUOTES

“We spend more time than ever before online and our expectations are increasingly high. The inability to get this right across all devices can seriously hurt a brand’s bottom line and reputation.”

“With such a low tolerance for delays or security concerns, businesses must ensure their digital infrastructure is in order and capable of delivering a fast and reliable service whatever the device the consumer uses.”

“Deploying a high-performance solution in the data centre is crucial to performance. Using software-defined application services (SDAS), businesses can automate the management of applications, securely redirecting workloads when needed, allowing the app to deal with surges in customer demand or security threats around DDoS attacks.”

“The price of digital failure has never been higher, but it’s also critical for businesses to put in place network infrastructure to ensure their customers receive the best possible service, with the lowest possible threat.”

Gary Newe, UK Technical Director, F5

AVAILABILITY

The full results from F5’s digital experiences survey are available on request. If you would like further information, or a briefing with F5 about the survey, please contact us.

F5 will be present at Cisco Live in Milan, Italy on 26th – 30thJanuary, located at Booth P2.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

F5’s digital experiences research surveyed 2,001 UK adults aged 18+ from 16th - 19th  December 2014.

About F5

F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) makes apps go faster, smarter, and safer for the world’s largest businesses, service providers, governments, and consumer brands. F5 delivers cloud and security solutions that enable organizations to embrace the application infrastructure they choose without sacrificing speed and control. For more information, go to f5.com. You can also follow @f5networks on Twitter or visit us on LinkedIn and Facebook for more information about F5, its partners, and technologies.

F5 is a trademark or service mark of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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