Slow stores lose buyers before the page loads

Speed is the first thing a buyer experiences on your store, before any photo, price or review. If the page is slow, many buyers never see the rest.

What the research says

Google reported that 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if a page takes longer than three seconds to load, as covered by Marketing Dive (September 2016).

Why it matters for African brands

Many buyers browse on mobile data, on mid-range phones, often while doing something else. Every extra second gives them a reason to go back to the app they came from.

Where the weight usually comes from

• Large, uncompressed product images
• Apps and widgets added over time and never removed
• Pop-ups that load before the products do

A store that loads slowly is a store most buyers never see.