Report ranks website performance of the 100 most popular retail brands in the UK, measuring speed, usability and responsiveness

Contentsquare, the global leader in digital experience analytics, announced their inaugural Fast 100 2022 report. With Core Web Vitals playing such an important role in a brand’s digital success, Contentsquare set out to analyse the performance of the UK’s most popular retail websites. Each website is ranked according to speed, usability, and responsiveness by taking into account Core Web Vitals including Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), and Total Blocking Time (TBT), which are used to determine the overall rank for each brand.

“Not only have consumers become exceedingly impatient, expecting immediate answers wherever they go, but speed is now also a key driver in search performance. We’re excited about this launch to help drive value for brands seeking to improve their overall digital experiences.”

Contentsquare’s proprietary Speed Analysis tool is a software solution that allows brands to monitor and improve their web performance continuously, with access to real-time notifications alerting brands of any quality or loading time issues impacting the site performance. It allows brands to analyse site performance by comparing between two or more site versions to see which is the best option.

The tool was built for marketers and eCommerce professionals alike to better understand the performance of their sites, and obtain insight on how to increase speed, rank higher on SEO, and work to identify more in-depth issues impacting performance.

Marketing Technology News: DataLoop Increases Offerings for Data Annotation for Clients’ Benefit

Contentsquare leveraged the Speed Analysis Tool to rank the site performance of brands included in YouGov’s Most Popular Brands Q4 2021, in each of the following retail sectors:

• Grocery
• Speciality Retail
• Luxury
• Home goods and furnishings
• Fashion

This year, the top five brands with the highest performing sites include Montblanc, Co-Operative Group, Cartier, Farmfoods, and Whole Foods Market.

“At Ocado, we pride ourselves in looking after our customers and providing the best possible customer experience online. But in a fast-moving market and with users returning regularly with different needs, we need a way to quickly analyse and segment data. Contentsquare gives us the ability to identify potential customer issues and provide hypotheses for our Optimisation team. A truly valuable part of our toolset to continually improve the experience for our customers,” said Matthew Wilson, Digital Development Manager, Ocado Retail. Ocado ranked #26 on the Fast 100 list.

“In 2021, Google updated its algorithm to prioritise on-site experience, favouring sites with top-performing Core Web Vitals. This update ensures that users are connected to helpful content and websites that have exceptional user experiences,” said Duncan Keene, UK Managing Director, Contentsquare. “Not only have consumers become exceedingly impatient, expecting immediate answers wherever they go, but speed is now also a key driver in search performance. We’re excited about this launch to help drive value for brands seeking to improve their overall digital experiences.”

“Site performance greatly impacts the customer journey and is a key factor in the overall customer experience. Poor website speed can completely derail an otherwise inspiring digital experience, and with the global bounce rate at 50% across industries, it has never been more important for brands to make a good first impression.” said Keene.

Contentsquare created a similar ranking of leading retail brands in the Spanish market.

Site performance, including Core Web Vitals, is also a key focus of Contentsquare’s 2022 Digital Experience Benchmark Report, an analysis of 46 billion browsing sessions across 14 industries, including retail, luxury, travel, and B2B services. Contentsquare’s behavioural insights can identify issues such as slow speeds, errors, or UX challenges that are affecting users to accomplish their goals.

Marketing Technology News: MarTech Interview with Alex Dean, Co-founder and CEO at Snowplow