Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Introduction

The Internet has created a completely new way of
interacting and transacting with consumers. Customers are also adopting Web technologies and the
Internet at an unprecedented rate. In order to garner a share of the online marketplace, both
traditional retail firms as well as pure Internet firms are rapidly implementing a diverse set of
strategies to capture the attention of online consumers. The growth of online commerce is simply
astonishing. The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce (2003) reported an increase of over
27.8% in retail e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2003 from the second quarter of 2002 and
an increase of 11.2 % in total retail e-commerce sales from the prior quarter of 2003. An estimate
by Forrester Research (2003) expects online retail sales to grow at a steady 19% year-over-year
rate from 2003 to 2008. It also predicts that nearly 5 million new US households will shop online
in each of the next five years, totaling 63 million US online shopping households in 2008.

In addition to businesses, there has been a rapid adoption of the Internet by consumers for
various purposes. For example, a study by the Georgia Institute of Technology (Kehoe et al., 1998)
reported that about 40% of the respondents indicated shopping as their primary use of the Web.
Another study by Ernst & Young (1998) found that over 39 million individuals shopped online in
1998, with more than 50% of them spending US$500 or more on their online purchases. A more recent
study by eMarketer (2002) stated that online shopping expenditures in the USA are going to increase
15% from 2002 to 2003 and 12% from 2003 to 2004.

In an effort to garner a share of this growing online market, many traditional firms as well
as dot.com firms are evaluating different ways to improve their Web presence and succeed in their
online initiatives. However, despite their efforts, online sales still represent only a tiny
fraction of total retail sales. The Census Bureau of the Department of E-commerce (2003) reported
that e-commerce retail sales accounted for only 1.5% of total sales in the first and second quarter
of 2003. Surveys have identified significant hurdles in luring consumers to make online purchases.
For example, a study by Creative Good, Inc. found that 43% of
online purchase attempts failed because consumers either had trouble finding products in the firm’s
Web site, or the electronic checkout process made the purchase too difficult to complete (Verton,
2000). Moreover, in another survey conducted by AT Kearney, 52% of survey respondents reported that
they did not complete an online purchase due to the huge amount of information they were asked to
provide. In addition, it was found that four of five consumers abandon attempts to purchase
products online due to poor Web site design and functionality (Calkins et al., 2000).

The success of companies such as Dell computers, Amazon.com and Ebay, and failure of many
others in online commerce serves as a wake-up call for other firms trying to engage in online
retailing. How to win consumers online is a question weighing heavily in the minds of several
executives today. Since the Web site forms the primary medium for
interacting with consumers and enacting all marketing and selling transactions, effective Web site
design has come to the forefront of attention. In this chapter, we focus on the key
features that potentially differentiate effective, winning Web sites from ineffective
ones.

In order to understand the issues involved in designing effective Web sites, we take a dual
approach. First, taking a consumer perspective, we examine what consumers look for in online retail
sites and what features they feel are important in retail sites. Second, taking a business
viewpoint, we examine the best selling Web sites and investigate the key features they have
incorporated in their Web sites. The collective wisdom gained from these two approaches should
provide some insights into effective retail Web site design for other businesses as well as for
scholars.

In subsequent sections, we summarize the results from two independent research studies that
have focused on Web site design from consumer and business perspectives. The first study examines
the key characteristics of business-to-consumer (B2C) Web sites as perceived by online consumers.
The second one explores the top retail Web sites and identifies the more influencing
characteristics of the Web sites on online retail sales. From these two studies, we analyze the
common features that make a successful Web site as well as their relative importance as perceived
by online consumers and as shown by their impact on online sales. Along with this, we examine the
gaps between current Web site practices and the online consumer expectations. Based on these
analyses, we conclude the chapter by providing some prescriptive suggestions for designing an
effective online B2C Web site.