We pulled response-time data from 14 of our UK clients across hospitality, trades, lettings, e-commerce and clinics. Here's the honest spread — by channel, by time of day, by sector. Where do you sit?
Sample: 14 Agent Networks UK clients across hospitality, trades, lettings, e-commerce, dental, aesthetic clinics. Data window: April-June 2026.
Four channels. Three bars per channel: top 25% (fastest), median, bottom 25% (slowest). Bar width is proportional to response time.
If you're slower than the median, you're losing leads to faster competitors. If you're in the bottom 25%, you're invisible after-hours.
IG DMs are the worst channel across the board — buyers expect Twitter speed, get email speed. The gap is the biggest single conversion-killer we measure.
Email expectations are softer — most buyers tolerate ~4hrs. But the bottom 25% miss the same-day window entirely.
A missed call returned in <15 mins converts at ~70%. Returned the next day, conversion drops to ~12% — they've already called someone else.
Out-of-hours is where most SMEs lose the bulk of their pipeline. Here's the split:
WhatsApp median: 4m 12s
Instagram median: 6h 14m
Slow but mostly answered.
31% of messages never get a reply at all.
47% take 12h+ to first-reply.
Invisible to half your weekend buyers.
Same data sliced by sector. Where's the bottleneck for each?
| Sector | WhatsApp median | Main bottleneck |
|---|---|---|
| Hospitality (cafés/restaurants) | 4h 12m | After-hours DMs to bookings |
| Trades (electrical/plumbing) | 2h 47m | Owner driving, can't reply |
| Lettings & property | 6h 38m | Portal enquiry overload |
| E-commerce (Shopify) | 1h 48m | WISMO clogs the queue |
| Aesthetic clinics | 5h 24m | Reception runs treatments + replies |
Sample sizes per sector: 2-4 clients each. Treat as directional, not statistical.
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