Constructing the Evaluation Model for Business-to-consumers Electronic Commerce from Consumer's Perception

An electronic commerce (EC) web site is not only an information system but also a channel of marketing and selling. An evaluation model that takes both the technical factors of developing the web system and the marketing factors of attracting consumers to use it into consideration is therefore very crucial. As far, most of the studies related to EC web sites focused on developing technical principles or guidelines of web design or providing key factors of the business model and the comprehensive evaluation model for EC web sites are still lacking. This paper aims at constructing a model for evaluating EC web sites in both the technical aspects of designing a web system and the marketing aspects of fitting the users’ consumption behavior. After reviewing the related literature we presented a model integrating web-design principles and marketing theories based on the perspective of consumer’s perception. We validated this model by using the web survey method. Through the factor analysis the 33 items of the model were categorized into four factors: interface and content design, system function design, commercial design, and personal interaction. This evaluation instrument is useful for web designers and organizations to provide more attractive and effective web sites for consumers. Moreover, the survey result also revealed that there exists significant gap between the perceived functions and the expected functions of the respondents about the EC web sites. This finding can be used for the EC firms to improve their web site design.