RetailTechNews’ weekly roundup brings you up-to-date research findings from around the world. In this week’s edition: Millennials Move Shops for Retail Tech; E-commerce Booms in H1; and Slow Load Time Costs Customers.

Millennials Move Shops for Retail Tech

Over two-thirds (69%) of respondents aged 24-35 claimed they would be more likely to shop with a retailer that was enhancing the shopping experience with innovative technology. This generation has also proven over the last 10 years that it is the most likely to change its shopping habits, with almost three-quarters (72%) stating their routine differs from a decade ago.

The likelihood of changing shopping habits because of technology falls as age increases: less than 1-in-10 baby boomers would shop elsewhere to benefit from technology and only 6% would of those of retirement age (65+). These age groups have also changed the least in the last decade (36% for baby boomers and 33% for shoppers aged 65 and older).

The research has also revealed how the likelihood of Brits changing where they shop to benefit from technology increases in parallel with income. Whereas only around 15% of respondents with lower incomes would be influenced by technology, over two-thirds of Brits with an income of £75,000-99,000 would, as would three-quarters earning £100,000, and 9-in-10 earning over £125,000.

E-commerce Booms in H1

UK e-commerce sales have exceeded £28bn during the first half of 2018, a staggering 10% growth year-on-year (YOY) compared to 2017, according to analysis of transactions through Adobe Experience Cloud.

The start of the World Cup has been highlighted as a key driver of this increase, with the first two days of the championship (June 14th and 15th) seeing the highest spend in H1, £218.7m and £237.6m, respectively.

The report also shows that retailers shouldn’t take Mondays off. The ‘Manic Monday’ effect sees Mondays consistently having the highest sales of the week, with sales decreasing as the week goes on.

What’s more, Buy British Day (October 1st) is turning into a major e-commerce event. In 2017, retailers saw 11% more revenue coming from inside the country compared to the rest of the year, with a 7% uplift in sales, compared to a typical day, and a 12% increase expected for 2018.

Slow Load Time Costs Customers

A business with a slow or underperforming website is likely to lose 73% of its customers to a competitor, finds a survey by Eggplant. Furthermore, over 80% of consumers are more frustrated by consistently slow websites than those that are temporarily down.

When it comes to UK consumers, site speed is so important that almost 3-in-5 (60%) feel much more negative towards a brand if its site is consistently slow to load. This is in contrast to less than a quarter (23%) who feel the same way if a site is down or not working. However, nearly half (49%) of consumers feel slightly negative towards a brand if its website is not working.

When it comes to American consumers, site speed is so important that well over half (59%) feel much more negative towards a brand if its site is consistently slow to load. This is in contrast to less than a quarter (23%) who feel the same way if a site was temporarily down or not working.

Across the board, U.S. consumers have the same sentiment regarding website speed vs downtime. Only slightly down on the UK, 79% of Americans find a slow-loading website more frustrating to use than one that is down or not working. In fact, 41% of American adults rate website speed as very important when it comes to online activity. Like the UK, only a tiny proportion (1%) said that website speed was not important at all.