Baruch College, The City University of New York, USA
While the number of Web users continues to grow very quickly worldwide, only a small percentage of them buy products or services online. The main reason for that is their lack of trust in the online companies and the Web in general as a safe place to make purchases. This chapter reviews and summarizes current research in the area of online customer trust. It discusses how customer perceptions about the company, its Web site, and the Web in general as well as individual customer characteristics affect how they develop trust in the online companies. In conclusion, a number of guidelines for companies are provided to help them increase their customers’ trust in them.