I am very excited to announce that comScore recently introduced a new capability for measuring page load data, which allows Web site operators to benchmark the performance of their sites vs. their competitors. This new capability was made feasible through a software upgrade that allows us to record each time a web page fully loads and the amount of time that action takes to complete. The load time is meticulously tracked down to the millisecond, making it possible to accurately compare loading performance across sites. (Note: For the tech savvy among us, we are measuring the “DocComplete” event in the Document Object Model (DOM).)

As people rely on the Internet for an increasing number of functions in managing their daily lives, the demand for high speed access has grown considerably. Web users’ patience for page loading has clearly diminished over time and those who do not receive immediate satisfaction are likely to shift to a site that can provide it. The ability to monitor page load data will allow us to perform a variety of new analyses that can yield actionable insights for our clients. For example, we are able to review how page load times relate to important factors such as repeat visitation to a site, search usage, and even E-commerce conversion metrics.

In support of a presentation we recently delivered at Akamai’s 2009 Global Customer Conference, we chose to analyze how page load times affected consumer activity at four domestic airline sites in the U.S. We compared two airline sites that were using a page load optimization solution (in this case, Akamai Dynamic Site Acceleration) to two sites that were not. The chart below illustrates the relative load times of pages at the particular airline sites for both visits resulting in a ticket purchase and those not resulting in a purchase:

We can see from the results that page load times were substantially shorter at the two airline sites which used the Akamai accelerator -- whether or not a purchase occurred. We also found that users of the page load optimization solution had a 40% shorter web page load time when a purchase was involved compared to the sites that did not use a solution. In the case of Airline #2, the page load time with a purchase was actually faster than the page load time without one, which is particularly impressive given that more processing needs to occur in order to confirm a customer’s order.

We believe this new data will enable many more compelling studies in the future as we begin to expand our measurement of actual consumer web page load performance vs. automated services. This will become especially important in the e-commerce category where the measurement of download times for pages that involve purchases are difficult to automate. Stay tuned!

Each year it seems that free shipping deals become more and more prevalent as we enter the holiday season. Perhaps stoked by the furious competition of Cyber Monday, it seems that for many retailers offering free shipping is essentially the price of entry if they have any hopes of converting consumers during the heaviest part of the online buying period.

comScore reported data during our recent webinar State of the U.S. Online Retail Economy showing just how important free shipping had become over the past few years. During Q3 2009, 42 percent of all e-commerce transactions completed in the U.S. included free shipping, up from 31 percent in Q1 2008.

Why has this phenomenon taken hold so strongly? First, I think that consumers are getting wise to the types of offers they receive online. And if one retailer doesn’t offer them free shipping, another one will. Secondly, I think the effects of the recession have accelerated this movement towards free shipping. Consumers need to feel that they’re “getting a deal” with their financial resources increasingly scarce and it seems that fewer are willing to simply pay full price.

We recently conducted a survey of Internet users regarding their online holiday shopping behaviors, and one question we asked was: When making a purchase online this holiday season, which of the following statements best describes how important free shipping is to you?

Nearly three quarters of all respondents indicated that free shipping was somewhat important or very important. In other words, three out of every four online shoppers are going to have free shipping on their mind when deciding whether or not to make a purchase. More than one-third indicated it was very important and that they wouldn’t make a purchase without it!

So retailers are in a position where they really have to figure out a way to offer free shipping, because it is clearly a primary determinant in most consumers’ online purchase behavior. Of course, this reality could be cause for some concern to retailers, as free shipping offers have a way of eating into margins. It’s certainly a valid concern.

But it is also a potential opportunity for retailers. One important aspect of free shipping we found is that orders that included free shipping were an average of 15-20% higher than orders without free shipping. Now that may seem counterintuitive at first. One might expect that consumers would prefer to spread out their shipping costs over more items and that average order values would be higher for transactions including paid shipping.

What’s really going on here? Actually, the higher average order values are due to the fact that many free shipping deals are tied to minimum spending thresholds (e.g. “Free Shipping when you spend $100”). When put in this context, the free shipping deals make a lot of sense. They can be positioned in a way that adds value for the retailer, by generating more sales, and adds value for the consumer, who is satisfied knowing that he or she “got a deal” on their transaction.

So my advice to retailers this holiday season: think of free shipping as an opportunity to give your consumers what they want – peace of mind. When everyone is watching their pennies, consumers have a much stronger psychological need to be sure they’re getting a deal on anything they purchase. It’s something you can deliver to them in a way that can certainly benefit your topline results and maybe even your bottom line.

This past week I had the unique privilege of speaking at Google Day in Istanbul, Turkey. I’ll be honest – when I first agreed to take on this speaking engagement, I was a little apprehensive. This would be my first trip to Istanbul, and I’ll admit that my knowledge of the country was fairly limited. In addition to not knowing much about the country and its culture, I didn’t have intimate knowledge of Internet usage patterns in Turkey. Needless to say, I had to get up to speed quickly using comScore data since the topic of my presentation was “Global Perspectives & the Role of Turkey in the Digital World”.

As I began preparing, I was amazed to learn how connected the online population of Turkey is, especially compared to other countries around the world. Consider the following: when you analyze the top countries worldwide, Turkey ranks #3 for user engagement, with the average Internet user spending 30 hours per month online (behind only Canada and the U.S.) It turns out that Turkey has a vibrant online community that is technologically savvy and young, with nearly 70 percent of users between the ages of 15 and 34 (by comparison, 54 percent of the worldwide Internet population is in this age range). However, despite this nation’s impressive engagement, less than 50 percent of Turkey’s population logs online through either home or work locations; so the growth potential in this country is tremendous.

The presentation I delivered to a standing room audience of nearly 1,000 attendees was a big success. Throughout the duration of Google Day, I was complimented on comScore’s global viewpoint as the leading player in this space and the depth of data that comScore is able to provide to better understand audiences around the globe. After the conference, I had the pleasure to stay the week and meet with several companies in Istanbul with our newly formed local team in Turkey. International expansion is a top priority at comScore, and it’s more critical than ever to be global but act local. By meeting many of the industry’s leading players, I was struck by how passionate they were about their digital future and how important they viewed comScore in being able to help them grow.

As comScore continues to expand its business overseas, it will become more and more critical to have this local presence in each of the key markets. Our global reputation as the leading provider of digital data often opens up doors for us, but the local touch and physical presence in each of the markets adds significant value. As for Istanbul, I have a newfound appreciation and respect that I never expected, and I look forward to my next trip there.