Consumer frustration with website performance during peak traffic times negatively affects business results: 78% of consumers have switched to a competitor's site due to poor Web performance during peak times, according to a new survey from Gomez.

Of those consumers who abandon low-performing websites:

• 88% are less likely to return to the poor-performing site.
• 47% are left with a negative perception of the company.
• 42% are likely to discuss the problem with friends or online.

Below, other findings from the survey, When More Website Visitors Hurt Your Business: Are You Ready for Peak Traffic?

Consumers do most of their online spending during peak traffic times: 51% spend a significant percentage of their online shopping budget during peak periods, which is also when 35% make online travel bookings.

Meanwhile, expectations are high: 67% of online consumers expect websites to perform well regardless of how busy the sites are.

In 2009, consumers' expectations for quality Web performance were not met: 72% of consumers experienced slower websites more frequently during peak traffic periods than at other times, and over half (51%) had problems completing transactions.

Financial Services Websites

Over half (52%) of financial services consumers experienced poor Web performance during peak times in 2009, and 63% of online stock traders reported the same.

Meanwhile, 42% of financial services customers––and 57% of online stock traders––said they would switch to a competitor if dissatisfied with their financial provider's website.

Looking for great digital marketing data? MarketingProfs reviewed more than 200 research sources and selected 64 of the best to create the Digital Marketing Factbook?a 144-page compilation of data and 110 charts, covering email marketing, search engine marketing, and social media. Also check out The State of Social Media Marketing, a 240-page original research report from MarketingProfs.

Retail Websites

About one-third (33%) of online shoppers experienced poor Web performance on a retail website during the 2009 holiday shopping season.

Meanwhile, 41% of retail consumers said they would abandon a retailer's website after one or two bad experiences, and 10% would abandon a site after just one.

Travel Websites

Nearly one-quarter (24%) of online travel consumers had a negative experience on a travel website during the 2009 peak travel season. Of those consumers, 18% cited slow-loading problems.

Online travel consumers are less tolerant than retail consumers: 53% said they would abandon a travel website after one or two bad experiences, and 17% would book elsewhere after just one.

About the data: The study was conducted by Equation Research, on behalf of Gomez, and consisted of  interviews with 1,538 consumers  who had purchased a product or service online in the previous nine months,  including 500 online-retail shoppers, 500 who used the Web for online travel bookings, and 500 financial service users, including online stock traders. Interviews were conducted December 16-22, 2009.