ابعاد کلیدی وب سایت های بنگاه به مصرف کننده

The rapid growth in the electronic commerce over the Internet has fuelled predictions and speculations about what makes a business-to-consumer (B2C) web site effective. Yet, there are very few empirical studies that examine this issue. We examined the key characteristics of a B2C web site as perceived by online consumers. Based on a questionnaire survey of 214 online shoppers, we empirically derived four key dimensions of B2C web sites: information content, design, security, and privacy. Though all these dimensions seem to have an impact on the online purchase intent of consumers, security and privacy were found to have greater effect on the purchase intent of consumers. The implications of the findings for online merchants are discussed.

There has been a phenomenal growth in business-to-consumer (B2C) electronic commerce since the commercialization of the Internet in early 1990s. The global nature of the Internet, its vast reach and different interactive capabilities have made it an important marketing and trading medium for many firms. There is a drastic increase in the number of organizations that are using the web for marketing, promoting, and transacting products and services with consumers. In 1999, organizations exchanged US$ 20 billion worth products and services through B2C web sites. This number is predicted to be as high as US$ 184 billion in the year 2004 [19]. Apart from organizations, there seems to be rapid adoption of the Internet by consumers for various purposes, including information search and online shopping. A study by the Georgia Institute of Technology [33] reported that about 40% of the respondents indicated shopping as their primary use of web. Another study by Ernst & Young 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 [20]. The rise in online shopping is affecting the traditional retail sales in that the growth in offline sales over the next decade is expected to slow down from 5 to 3% a year. The increase in B2C commerce has made several firms look for new ways to understand online shopping behavior in order to attract and retain consumers. While there seems to be an understanding that online shopping behavior is fundamentally different from that in a conventional retail environment [46], empirical research in this area is sparse. There is little documentation on consumer perception of what makes an effective B2C web site. A number of frameworks and guidelines have been proposed by industry experts and consultants for building and designing B2C shopping sites, but there is no unified view on its key characteristics. Our research is intended to help addressing these gaps. In this paper, we identify the key dimensions of B2C sites as perceived by online consumers. We operationally define a B2C web site as a site on the world wide web through which a consumer can purchase a product or service. By our definition, they include online shopping sites set up by infomediaries, brick-and-mortar merchants, and virtual malls. Based on a survey of 214 shoppers, we empirically develop four key dimensions of these web sites. Our study examined the main characteristics that consumers look for, identified the underlying dimensions, and assessed their relative importance. By this, our study identified factors that were critical to the success of a B2C site.

A recent study on online merchants revealed that they invest an average of about US$ 24 to acquire a new customer. If online merchants have to attract and retain consumers while realizing a good return on their investment, they must focus on the consumer’s expectations. The results reported in this paper are based on what online consumers perceive as important and effective in B2C web sites. Online merchants can asses their web sites based on our set of variables and identify areas that need improvement. As limitations of our study, we emphasize both the regional and convenient nature of our sample. Our study could be extended using a web-based survey with more Internet users and a globally representative sample. The importance of business-to-commerce to the future global economy is well known. Determining how to create business-to-consumer web sites that can effectively attract and retain consumers so that key objectives, such as online purchases, web visitor satisfaction, repeat visits, and online customer loyalty are attained is an important step in developing an overall e-business strategy of an organization.