SINGAPORE: Online consumers in Southeast Asia require fast-loading websites if they are to remain engaged and the majority value personalised web experiences, a new report has found.

According to Limelight Networks, a US-based content delivery provider, nearly half (43%) of consumers in the region say they would leave a website and go to a competitor if a webpage takes too long to load.

Furthermore, a full 84% of consumers say they expect to receive equally fast load times across all devices, even though smartphones are the most popular devices for accessing the internet.

These are some of the findings Limelight Networks uncovered for its State of the User Experience report, which is based on a survey of 1,600 adults in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.

The report confirmed that two-thirds (67%) of consumers in the region want a personalised online experience, such as a website remembering their details and making recommendations based on previous visits.

However, the survey also revealed some differences across the countries surveyed. For example, it emerged that consumers in Singapore attach slightly less importance to personalised web experiences and they also spend the least time online.

Meanwhile, consumers in Malaysia and the Philippines spend the most time online and it appears Filipinos are also more patient than their regional counterparts when it comes to dealing with a slow website.

Surprisingly, the survey also found that millennials in Thailand and the Philippines spend significantly less time online than the average of all other age groups.

According to the findings, just a third (34%) of Thai millennials spend 16 hours or more per week online compared with 42% of all other age groups.

And the gap is even greater in the Philippines, where 39% of millennials spend the same amount of time online compared with 56% of all other age groups.

"Our new research shows that nearly half of adult consumers in Southeast Asia are online 16 hours or more each week, outside of work, and they have high expectations for website performance, especially when it comes to e-commerce," said Jaheer Abbas, Limelight's Regional Sales Director SE Asia & ANZ.

"Nearly everyone surveyed said that they're likely to recommend a brand to a friend if they have a positive web experience, and on the flip side, that they'll leave and go to a competitor if it isn't a good experience," he added.

Data sourced from Limelight Networks; additional content by Warc staff