News Room






Thursday February 9, 2006
Survey Reveals Poor Web Site Performance Can Take the Romance Out of Last-Minute Valentine's Day Shopping Online
Seventy Percent of Valentine's Day Shoppers Will Stop Trying to Access a Site After Two Attempts



COCONUT CREEK, Fla., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 50 percent of online shoppers will make a Valentine's Day purchase within six days of the holiday, according to a survey conducted by TNS and sponsored by AlertSite.com. With the rush of last-minute online shopping already underway, retailers risk losing valuable business if their sites experience any errors that might delay or prevent potential customers from making a purchase.

The survey, which polled 2,500 respondents online, shows that 70 percent of those who are planning a Valentine's Day purchase online will try no more than two times to access a Web site before choosing another site, or not buying online at all. Web site monitoring technology can help online merchants immediately identify any problems that might interfere with a customer's shopping experience by monitoring uptime, load time and key site applications, and providing notification about performance issues.

This year, flowers, candy/chocolate and e-cards topped shoppers' lists, suggesting that these traditional gifts remain popular online Valentine's Day purchases. About 15 percent of survey respondents said they would buy flowers; 13 percent planned to buy candy or chocolate; and 12 percent intended to send e-cards to loved ones.

A list of 25 of the top Valentine's Day retailers, categorized by home page response time and availability, is available at http://www.alertsite.com/holiday_tracking.shtml and will be updated daily through February 14. Current results show that the top three sites with the fastest response times are See's Candies, Hershey's Chocolates and Victoria's Secret.

"By the time online merchants realize their site is slow, or not responding, they may have already lost significant sales volumes, as would-be customers look elsewhere to make a purchase," said Ken Gross, CEO, AlertSite. "For this reason, it is critical to constantly monitor how an online retail site is performing, particularly during a busy shopping season such as Valentine's Day. AlertSite provides detailed performance metrics to enhance e- business availability and to help merchants deliver exceptional customer service -- and a happy Valentine's Day."

In addition to providing Web site performance monitoring, AlertSite also offers its Security Vulnerability Scan service to evaluate the security of an online merchant's IT system that stores cardholder account information.

Complete results of the 2006 Valentine's Day survey are available upon request.

About AlertSite

AlertSite is a leading provider of Web performance measurement, systems monitoring and security vulnerability scanning products and services that ensure a customer's critical Web-based services are always available and running at peak performance. AlertSite's range of hosted Internet services benefits all types and sizes of businesses and organizations:

* AlertSite Monitoring Suite
* AlertSite Security Vulnerability Scan
* AlertSite Systems Monitor
* AlertSite Web Load Test

More than 1,600 customers worldwide rely on AlertSite to understand and enhance the end-user web experience, including Ditech, Purina Mills, eCourier and Vermont Teddy Bear. Founded in 1998, AlertSite is based in Coconut Creek, FL and is available online at http://www.alertsite.com.

About TNS

TNS is a market information group. We are the world's largest custom research company and a leading provider of social and political polling. We are also a major supplier of consumer panel, TV audience measurement and media intelligence services.

TNS operates a global network spanning 70 countries and employs over 13,000 people. We provide market information and measurement, together with insights and analysis, to local and multinational organizations.

We combine our specialist sector knowledge with expertise in the areas of new product development, motivational research, brand and advertising research and stakeholder management to bring our clients up-to-the minute, internationally consistent information.

We think differently to help our clients build competitive advantage, making TNS the sixth sense of business. http://www.tns-global.com