The Impact of Webpage Visual Characteristics on Consumer's Initial Trust In E-Vendors

In making decisions regarding transacting with web-based vendors, consumers typically consider the uncertainty about vendor behavior or the perceived risk of having personal information misused by vendors. To mitigate these concerns vendors convey cues to improve consumer trust at a very early stage. Initial trust plays a central role in helping consumers overcome perceptions of risk and insecurity and makes them feel comfortable about interacting and transacting with an evendor. Therefore, initial trust is critical to both researchers and practitioners. The present paper describes a research-inprogress study that concentrates on webpage visual complexity and order as central factors in the design of web pages to enhance consumers’ initial trust in an online e-vendor.