Delivering a poor web experience can seriously impact a business’s health.

A recent survey of 2,000 Internet users shows that online consumers are quick to punish companies with sluggish and badly designed websites by switching their loyalty elsewhere. Over 90% of respondents said they typically gave up on a website after three failed attempts to complete a transaction, and only 1% said they would take the time to phone a company in order to complete an order.

But the research, which was paid for by web application specialist Empirix, revealed the impact can stretch beyond the web. While over a third said they would stop using an Internet site as the result of a negative experience, a further one in five reported they would shun a business altogether – both online and offline – after having encountered poor online service.

The survey found that problems with web applications – rather than with Internet service providers – were the most common cause, with almost half of respondents reporting that they found themselves on improperly functioning websites between one and four times a week.

Over 90% of respondents have shopped online and over 30% claim to spend more than £50 per month over the web.