01 Jun 2009

E-commerce businesses 'turn to hosted services'

Smaller companies may want to ensure they have reliable web hosting and hosted services in place to maintain their online presence.

A new report by Redshift Research and Maxymiser found that over 80 per cent of online customers abandon e-commerce websites without buying any items.

One of the reasons for customers leaving empty handed is a slow website. Two-thirds of people claimed they would not return to a website if they found the experience unsatisfactory.

More than half of customers said that security is also an important deciding factor in whether they purchase from a firm with an online presence.

Managing director of Maxymiser Mark Simpson asserted: "If customers continue to abandon their shopping baskets at this rate then it will represent a significant lost revenue opportunity for online businesses."

An increasing number of online businesses are buying web hosting packages and considering other hosted services such as email, rather than relying solely on a data centre, Linda Leong, research director for internet infrastructure services at Gartner, said.