Web Aesthetics: How Does it Influence the Sales Performance in Online Marketplaces

Web aesthetics is advocated as one of the key factors influencing consumers’ attitude and behavior in the websites they visited. However, its real effects on the sales performance of websites remain largely unknown. This study is one of the first empirical studies to evaluate web aesthetics quantitatively and directly measure its effects on sales performance by using real-life transaction data. In this study, we identify the representative factors of three primary determinants of web aesthetics (unity, complexity, and intensity) in online marketplaces. Drawing on cognitive dissonance and confirmation bias theory, we further investigate how the influence of web aesthetics on sales performance is contingent on different levels of the seller’s reputation. A set of interaction relationships were proposed and will be tested using real-life transaction data collected from Taobao.com (the largest online marketplace in China). Potential theoretical implications are discussed and potential practical implications are offered for practitioners.