Why does electronic shopping exist? For customers it is not only because of the high level of convenience, but also because of the broader selection; competitive pricing and greater access to information.[5][6] For organizations it increases their customer value and the building of sustainable capabilities, next to the increased profits.[7]
Information load
Designers of online shops should consider the effects of information load. Mehrabian and Russel (1974) introduced the concept of information rate (load) as the complex spatial and temporal arrangements of stimuli within a setting.[8] The notion of information load is directly related to concerns about whether consumers can be given too much information in virtual shopping environments. Compared with conventional retail shopping, computer shopping enriches the information environment of virtual shopping by providing additional product information, such as comparative products and services, as well as various alternatives and attributes of each alternative, etc.[9]
Two major sub-dimensions have been identified for information load: complexity and novelty.[10] Complexity refers to the number of different elements or features of a site, which can be the result of increased information diversity. Novelty involves the unexpected, suppressing, new, or unfamiliar aspects of the site. A research by Huang (2000) showed that the novelty dimension kept consumers exploring the shopping sites, whereas the complexity dimension has the potential to induce impulse purchases.[9]
Consumer expectations
The main idea of online shopping is not just in having a good looking website that could be listed in a lot of search engines or the art behind the site.[11] It also is not only just about disseminating information, because it is also about building relationships and making money.[11] Mostly, organizations try to adopt techniques of online shopping without understanding these techniques and/or without a sound business model.[11] Rather than supporting the organization's culture and brand name, the website should satisfy consumer's expectations.[11] A majority of consumers choose online shopping for a faster and more efficient shopping experience. Many researchers notify that the uniqueness of the web has dissolved and the need for the design, which will be user centered, is very important.[11] Companies should always remember that there are certain things, such as understanding the customer's wants and needs, living up to promises, never go out of style, because they give reason to come back.[11] And the reason will stay if consumers always get what they expect. McDonaldization theory can be used in terms of online shopping, because online shopping is becoming more and more popular and a website that wants to gain more shoppers will use four major principles of McDonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability and control.
Organizations, which want people to shop more online for them, should consume extensive amounts of time and money to define, design, develop, test, implement, and maintain the website.[11] Also if a company wants their website to be popular among online shoppers it should leave the user with a positive impression about the organization, so consumers can get an impression that the company cares about them.[11] The organization that wants to be accepted in online shopping needs to remember, that it is easier to lose a customer then to gain one.[11] Lots of researchers state that even when a site was "top-rated", it would go nowhere if the organization failed to live up to common etiquette, such as returning e-mails in a timely fashion, notifying customers of problems, being honest, and being good stewards of the customers' data.[11] Organizations that want to keep their customers or gain new ones should try to get rid of all mistakes and be more appealing to be more desirable for online shoppers. And this is why many designers of webshops consider research outcomes concerning consumer expectations. Research conducted by Elliot and Fowell (2000) revealed satisfactory and unsatisfactory customer experiences.[12]
User interface
It is important to take the country and customers into account. For example, in Japan privacy is very important and emotional involvement is more important on a pension's site than on a shopping site.[7] Next to that, there is a difference in experience: experienced users focus more on the variables that directly influence the task, while novice users are focusing more on understanding the information.[13]
There are several techniques for the inspection of the usability. The ones used in the research of Chen & Macredie (2005) are Heuristic evaluation, cognitive walk through and the user testing. Every technique has its own (dis-)advantages and it is therefore important to check per situation which technique is appropriate.[14]
When the customers went to the online shop, a couple of factors determine whether they will return to the site. The most important factors are the ease of use and the presence of user-friendly features.[14]
The System Itself
The Shopping Cart system works like the name suggests. Firstly, the customer must choose the product desired from the source. Once this step is done, an option to add the product to the cart will be given, this step will assure that the item you desire will be bought. Once the customer has finished browsing for other potential purchases and has decided that the product he chose previously is the one that he wants to buy, the user must then follow the steps provided by the website in order to fulfill the transaction (normally requires an active account and/or registration method). Lastly, the order will then be sent to the desired address at a predicted date, which may alter depending on the speed of the process.
Information load
Designers of online shops should consider the effects of information load. Mehrabian and Russel (1974) introduced the concept of information rate (load) as the complex spatial and temporal arrangements of stimuli within a setting.[8] The notion of information load is directly related to concerns about whether consumers can be given too much information in virtual shopping environments. Compared with conventional retail shopping, computer shopping enriches the information environment of virtual shopping by providing additional product information, such as comparative products and services, as well as various alternatives and attributes of each alternative, etc.[9]
Two major sub-dimensions have been identified for information load: complexity and novelty.[10] Complexity refers to the number of different elements or features of a site, which can be the result of increased information diversity. Novelty involves the unexpected, suppressing, new, or unfamiliar aspects of the site. A research by Huang (2000) showed that the novelty dimension kept consumers exploring the shopping sites, whereas the complexity dimension has the potential to induce impulse purchases.[9]
Consumer expectations
The main idea of online shopping is not just in having a good looking website that could be listed in a lot of search engines or the art behind the site.[11] It also is not only just about disseminating information, because it is also about building relationships and making money.[11] Mostly, organizations try to adopt techniques of online shopping without understanding these techniques and/or without a sound business model.[11] Rather than supporting the organization's culture and brand name, the website should satisfy consumer's expectations.[11] A majority of consumers choose online shopping for a faster and more efficient shopping experience. Many researchers notify that the uniqueness of the web has dissolved and the need for the design, which will be user centered, is very important.[11] Companies should always remember that there are certain things, such as understanding the customer's wants and needs, living up to promises, never go out of style, because they give reason to come back.[11] And the reason will stay if consumers always get what they expect. McDonaldization theory can be used in terms of online shopping, because online shopping is becoming more and more popular and a website that wants to gain more shoppers will use four major principles of McDonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability and control.
Organizations, which want people to shop more online for them, should consume extensive amounts of time and money to define, design, develop, test, implement, and maintain the website.[11] Also if a company wants their website to be popular among online shoppers it should leave the user with a positive impression about the organization, so consumers can get an impression that the company cares about them.[11] The organization that wants to be accepted in online shopping needs to remember, that it is easier to lose a customer then to gain one.[11] Lots of researchers state that even when a site was "top-rated", it would go nowhere if the organization failed to live up to common etiquette, such as returning e-mails in a timely fashion, notifying customers of problems, being honest, and being good stewards of the customers' data.[11] Organizations that want to keep their customers or gain new ones should try to get rid of all mistakes and be more appealing to be more desirable for online shoppers. And this is why many designers of webshops consider research outcomes concerning consumer expectations. Research conducted by Elliot and Fowell (2000) revealed satisfactory and unsatisfactory customer experiences.[12]
User interface
It is important to take the country and customers into account. For example, in Japan privacy is very important and emotional involvement is more important on a pension's site than on a shopping site.[7] Next to that, there is a difference in experience: experienced users focus more on the variables that directly influence the task, while novice users are focusing more on understanding the information.[13]
There are several techniques for the inspection of the usability. The ones used in the research of Chen & Macredie (2005) are Heuristic evaluation, cognitive walk through and the user testing. Every technique has its own (dis-)advantages and it is therefore important to check per situation which technique is appropriate.[14]
When the customers went to the online shop, a couple of factors determine whether they will return to the site. The most important factors are the ease of use and the presence of user-friendly features.[14]
The System Itself
The Shopping Cart system works like the name suggests. Firstly, the customer must choose the product desired from the source. Once this step is done, an option to add the product to the cart will be given, this step will assure that the item you desire will be bought. Once the customer has finished browsing for other potential purchases and has decided that the product he chose previously is the one that he wants to buy, the user must then follow the steps provided by the website in order to fulfill the transaction (normally requires an active account and/or registration method). Lastly, the order will then be sent to the desired address at a predicted date, which may alter depending on the speed of the process.
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