E-Commerce Sites Slower Today Than 2 Years Ago (and Chrome is Slower Than Explorer)

Whatever happened to faster servers, better networks and improved usability? E-commerce sites are slower today than they were two years ago, according to a study of 2,000 top websites by StrangeLoop Networks. And perhaps even more shocking, Google's Chrome browser is slower, apparently, than Microsoft's much-maligned Internet Explorer. The 10-fastest sites Strangeloop found include photography super-site Adorama, Audible, J.Crew and Ralph Lauren's Polo, the winner with an average page load speed of just 1.93 seconds. That's almost 340 percent faster than today's average e-commerce website, which loads in a relatively pokey 6.5 seconds.