(IDG) -- Slow download times at online shopping sites could place at risk as much as $4.35 billion in U.S. e-commerce revenues each year, says a report released this week by Zona Research.

Analysts estimated that online shoppers would wait up to 8 seconds for a site to download. More than a third of surfers surveyed say they would give up trying to buy things over the Net if frustrated by the shopping experience.

Jack Staff, director and chief economist at Zona Research, says online companies must quicken download times to avoid losing sales and customers to brick-and-mortar stores.

The sales risk crosses all types of sites. For example, an estimated $3 million may be lost monthly due to slow securities-trading sites, and $2.8 million is vulnerable every month because of poorly performing travel and tourism sites.

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