Retailer Web Site Influence On Customer Shopping: Exploratory Study on Key Factors of Customer Satisfaction

The Internet/World Wide Web (Web) is a critical medium for the sharing of business information between retail firms and their customers (business-to-customer or B2C). Although electronic commerce (e-commerce) has received considerable research attention, little research has examined the effect of e-commerce’s Web presentations on retail customer shopping experiences. This twophase study explored customer reactions to Web retailers’ presentations of their products/services, attempting to identify Web-site characteristics that contribute to customer satisfaction arising from the Web-based shopping experience. Findings from use of the qualitative method of existential phenomenology were explored further with quantitative analyses including logistic regression. Findings suggest that two key elements in “positive” retail Web sites are convenience of site use and simplicity of site design for the customer’s access to information about product/service characteristics and customer-service policies.