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SURVEY SAYS.INTERNET PET PEEVES: WHAT DRIVES CONSUMERS AWAY
FROM YOUR E-BUSINESS
Hostway Corporation, a leading provider of Web hosting and managed
services, conducts a national survey identifying Web site pet peeves
and consequences.
Chicago, IL-Monday, August 1, 2005-As small to-medium-sized
businesses (SMBs) continue leveraging their online presence to build
their business, consumers are demanding more, and tolerating less,
from the Web sites they frequent.
A new national survey of consumer "pet peeves" about commercial
Web sites identifies some of the top offenders as pop-up ads, registration
log-on pages and eye-catching Flash software. This may be bad news
for businesses that rely on these tactics to encourage, track or engage
their current and potential customers.
What's more, in responding to the survey commissioned by Web
hosting leader Hostway Corp., more than 70 percent of consumers say
they're unlikely to purchase from, or even return to, a Web
site after encountering these pet peeves. And, because only 25 percent
of consumers say they'll complain to the companies about their
pet peeves, the use of these online annoyances may be having a negative
impact that's difficult to trace or measure.
"The results of this survey are a clear warning to e-businesses,"
said John Lee, vice president of marketing at Hostway. "The
Internet has matured to the point where consumers demand an easy online
experience. Quite simply, consumers are warning companies, 'you're
going to lose my business if your Web site experience is annoying."
According to the survey results, a whopping 93 percent of consumers
say pop-up ads are annoying or extremely annoying; 89 percent are
annoyed at the need to install extra software, and 83 percent express
annoyance with registration log-on pages that block access to online
content.
This survey also measured the likelihood of other consumer responses
when encountering their top pet peeves:
- Seventy-four percent are extremely or somewhat likely to unsubscribe
from the company's promotions or messages
- Seventy-one percent are extremely or somewhat likely to view
the company in a negative way
- Fifty-five percent are extremely or somewhat likely to complain
about the Web site to friends/associates
"In an increasingly Internet-focused world, consumers have many
choices," said Lee. "These results clearly show that consumers
will make a behavioral change if they encounter a Web site that annoys
them. In the context of this research, SMBs have the opportunity to
analyze their Web sites and make appropriate changes."
Most Annoying
What irks consumers the most? The survey asked consumers to rank their
most annoying Web site pet peeve and 35 percent of consumers responded
that pop-up ads are their number one pet peeve. Directly following
are requirement to register and log-on before viewing a site (at 17
percent) and requiring the installation of extra software to view
the site (at 16 percent).
How annoying are they?
Additionally, the survey presented a list of Web site quirks and asked
consumers to describe each one on a scale of annoyance:
- Eighty-six percent of consumers stated that dead links are annoying
or extremely annoying Eighty-four percent stated that confusing
navigation is annoying or extremely annoying
- Eighty-three percent of consumers stated that slow-loading
pages are annoying or extremely annoying
- Slightly over eighty percent of consumers stated that ineffective
site-search tools are annoying or extremely annoying
Comparatively fewer consumers ranked aesthetic characteristics of
Web sites annoying or extremely annoying:
- Fifty- nine percent of consumers think moving text is annoying
or extremely annoying
- Fifty-five percent of consumers feel strongly that poor appearance
in regard to color, fonts and format are annoying or extremely
annoying.
Gender, Generation and Income
The survey data additionally identifies differences between genders,
generations and income levels. Survey results suggest that women and
those beyond 60 years of age are more likely to have a strong opinion
on their pet peeves, regardless of their income or geographic locations.
Consumers with an income greater than $90,000 and those aged 40 to
49 had the highest percentage of respondents naming pop-up ads as
their top pet peeves.
Market research firm TNS conducted the survey for Hostway between
July 7-11 questioning 2,500 adult consumers nationwide about their
Web site pet peeves.
To obtain top-line survey results please visit hostway.com/media/survey/petpeeves.html
About Hostway Corporation
Hostway Corporation provides Web hosting and managed services to more
than 300,000 customers worldwide. Hostway helps individuals, small
businesses and large enterprises achieve more value from state-of-the-art
Web-based technologies by reducing their complexity and cost. Founded
in 1998, Hostway is one of the five largest Web hosting companies
in the world with offices in North America (Chicago, Tampa and Vancouver),
Europe (London and Amsterdam), Asia (Seoul) and Australia (Sydney).
For more information about Hostway Corporation, please visit www.hostway.com
or call 1-888-290-5170.
About TNS
TNS is one of the world's leading market information groups,
providing market measurement, analysis and insight through its operating
companies in 70 countries. Working with national and multi-national
organizations, TNS helps its clients develop effective business strategies
and enhance relationships with their customers. In July 2003, the
group merged with NFO WorldGroup, Inc. For more information about
TNS, please visit www.tns-global.com.
Survey Methodology
TNS conducted the survey online on behalf of Hostway Corporation between
July 7 and 11, 2005 among a nationally representative sample of 2,500
U.S. adults, aged 18 and older selected from TNS-NFO ACCESS panel.
For more information on survey methodology, please contact Tina Janczura
at Tina.Janczura@slackbarshinger.com.
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