Website bugs set to wreak misery and arguments on Valentine's Day
February 5, 2007
London, UK: With 58 percent of the UK relying on the internet to deliver their Valentine’s Day gifts on time, thousands are heading for disappointment, according to latest research out today from one of the world's largest specialists in web testing, AppLabs, as website crashes and issues cause incorrect and late deliveries.The problem will worsen by the sheer volume of people leaving it too late. The research, conducted by Omnibus research company ICM, found that of those ordering online, 48 percent will leave it until less than a week before to buy, with a very hopeful 28 percent leaving it until a few days before. This is set to cause huge surges in demand to popular gift sites – the high level of traffic can often trigger bugs in website systems not used to coping with high level demand.
As for lovers’ reactions when they don’t receive their internet-ordered gift or card from their partners, the majority, 73 percent, would reserve their anger for the internet company, making it unlikely they would go back to the same company again. For 33 percent, the website problem would have a knock on effect on their relationship, with 18 percent saying they would be angry at their lover and at the online company, 12 percent saying that it would ruin their day and a substantial three percent saying that it could cause a permanent rift in their relationship.
Some more of the research results include:
- 73 percent of people will be furious with the e-retailer for failing to deliver their Valentine’s presents and will be unlikely to use them again in the future
- 10 percent of women would think their partner was using poor service from internet companies as an excuse for not buying them anything for Valentine’s Day, whereas only 4 percent of men thought the same
- Five percent of men thought that if they failed to get an internet ordered gift from their wives and girlfriends on the day, it could cause a rift in their relationship – only two percent of women thought the same
Mark Ferguson, AppLabs, commented: “Time and time again, websites fail to rise to the challenge of times of high demand. You always hear about website crashes causing misery and this Valentine’s Day they are set to cause heart ache as well. It’s time e-retailers woke up and smelt the coffee – if 73 percent of the UK public are set to be unhappy with the e-retailer, they will lose that custom for good.”
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