🤝💼💻 New Survey by Queue-it: Consumers Choose Reliability Over Speed, Even Willing to Wait 53 Minutes Online

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Wednesday, 20 August 2025 08:00.AM

For years, businesses have raced to shave milliseconds off page-load times. But a new global survey reveals a shift in consumer priorities: reliability, not speed, is what drives trust online.

According to Queue-it's Age of Online Trust survey of more than 1,000 consumers worldwide, 87% would rather wait briefly for a smooth, reliable website than get instant access to one that's buggy or slow. On average, respondents said they'd wait 53 minutes in an online queue for a fair shot at purchasing a high-demand product.

"This flips the script on what many ecommerce teams assume," said Jillian Als, CMO of Queue-it. "Speed is important, but reliability builds trust. Consumers would rather wait a few minutes than wonder if their order will fail or bots and scalpers had an unfair advantage."

Reliability beats chaos - even if it means waiting

The survey found that online queues are far more acceptable to consumers than site crashes or slowdowns:

• 87% prefer a short wait on a reliable site over instant access to a buggy one
• 84% would rather queue than face a crash or error page
• Consumers are willing to wait 53 minutes on average for limited-inventory sales

These findings challenge the long-standing belief that speed is king in digital commerce, especially during product drops, ticket onsales, or government registrations.

Trust is hard to win & easy to lose

The research also underscores how fragile online trust can be. It takes four positive experiences for consumers to trust a business—but only two negative ones to lose it.

• 74% say reliable websites and apps are key to winning trust
• 66% lose trust after experiencing overselling
• 64% lose trust after experiencing a crash

"In today's digital world, online trust has become the new currency," said Jesper Essendrop, CEO of Queue-it. "Winning trust online isn't about shaving off milliseconds—it's about staying in control of your traffic and delivering flawless digital experiences that keep consumers coming back again and again. That's the mission we work toward every day at Queue-it."

SOURCE: Queue-it

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