• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, November 20, 2017

Leading up to the biggest shopping days of the year, new research suggests that digital consumers have less patience than ever before.

In fact, a full 49% of shoppers say they will abandon a purchase if a brand’s website takes longer than 5 seconds to load.

That’s according to an annual report from Limelight Networks, which is based on a survey of 3,500 respondents in U.S., along with the U.K., France, India, Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines.

What’s more, 43% of respondents said they would move to a different site to make a purchase if a site was too slow. About 12% of consumers said they wouldn’t even re-visit a website after previously experiencing slow performance.

That’s double the number from last year’s survey, which shows just how high consumer expectations have become.

“In today’s crowded market, brands can’t risk delivering a poor online experience to their customers,” said Michael Milligan, senior director at Limelight Networks, notes in the new report.

Along with speed of service, consumers won’t tolerate businesses that can’t keep their personal information secure.

Among respondents, more than 75% said they form a negative opinion of a brand after it has experienced a security breach, while 40% said they wouldn’t shop at a website that has been the victim of a cyber-attack.

In a cringe-worthy examples, Target experienced a massive security breach that compromised the data of millions of customers, in 2013.

On the bright side, Limelight’s latest reports finds that good experiences go a long way. The top factors in deciding to purchase a product from a website are the “ability to easily search and find items” and “fast online performance,” the company found.

After a positive experience on a website, 75% of consumers surveyed said they will recommend that brand to a friend.

Globally, more than 45% of people spend at least 15 hours a week online outside of work -- a 64% increase, year-over-year. 

Smartphones were found to be the primary device used to access online content, while 56% of consumers expect fast web performance regardless of what device they are using.