Christmas in 2010 saw 44% of us increase our online shopping budgets according to a survey by market research company Tealeaf.

Reasons for this were said to be Convenience, Less Stress, Cheaper Prices (even after postage costs are added on) and Faster Shopping Times (the average time it takes to complete a simple transaction is about 21seconds).

According to a study by eDigitalResearch on Christmas and Boxing Day almost two thirds of Britons went online to get in on the Post-Christmas sales and beat the VAT rise.

It seems that now more than ever companies are realising the impact online shopping has on their business.

The Tealeaf survey also showed that over 5.3 Million British users abandoned their shopping carts due to errors on sites. This figure alone may seem high, but in a Social Media savvy society the knock on effect could be tremendous.

If your friend posted a status or tweet stating a site was full of errors or timing out would you shop there, especially when there are hundreds (if not thousands) of alternatives at your fingertips?

With smartphones and other smart devices becoming more and more prevalent our demand for 24 hour access to online stores and services increases. Even a down time of 2 minutes could lose you 50 customers even if only one person tries to access your site in that time.