The Effectiveness of Online Shopping Characteristics and Well-Designed Websites on Satisfaction

Much research has been done to understand the motivations of consumers to choose among online retailers and the retailer factors driving customer satisfaction (e.g., Kim et al. 2009; Kotha et al. 2004; Pan et al. 2002; Qu et al. 2008; Smith et al. 2000; Wolfinbarger and Gilly 2003). Concentrating on e-tailing service quality, Wolfinbarger and Gilly (2003) argue that four factors—website design, fulfillment/reliability, privacy/security, and customer service—strongly predict customer satisfaction. Kotha et al. (2004) study the role of online buying experience as a competitive advantage along five dimensions: website usability, customer confidence in the web business, the selection of goods and services on the site, the effectiveness of relationship services such as virtual community building and site personalization, and the extent of price leadership. They conclude that website usability and product selection can be easily competed away via imitation, while superior customer service can lead to a sustainable competitive advantage. Devaraj et al. (2002) find that the usefulness and ease-of-use of online shopping, together with high service quality, are factors affecting consumer satisfaction and, subsequently, their channel preference. Price can also play a role in customer satisfaction. Because online stores are only a mouse click away, many studies have argued that price is an important factor in a customer’s decision-making process (Lee and Overby 2004). Using BizRate data, Jiang and Rosenbloom (2005) find that after-delivery satisfaction and price perception have a stronger impact on customer satisfaction than at-checkout satisfaction. Combining the aforementioned studies while integrating their similar dimensions, we review three retailer characteristics, namely website design, customer service, and pricing, and we provide theoretical background for this research.