Design flaws hit e-traders

Verdict Consulting warns of massive cost of site failings

Poorly performing web sites are costing firms millions of pounds in lost sales and damage to their reputations, according to new research by retail analyst Verdict Consulting.

The study, commissioned by retail outsourcing specialist Xansa and global service provider Akamai, suggests that UK retailers lost £84m of online sales during the Christmas period due to downtime and slow web sites.

"In some cases there is an underlying element of poor design which has been built upon over the years," said Mark Collyer of Xansa.
Malcolm Rowe of Akamai said that firms should pass their back-end infrastructure to a service provider to cope with peaks in demand. "Faster performing sites in retail translate directly to reduced abandoned transaction rates," said Rowe.