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The purpose of this paper is to advance product appeal and website appeal as focal psychological mechanisms that can be invoked by business-to-consumer e-commerce sites to mitigate problems of information asymmetry via signaling to bolster consumers’ purchase intention under the influence of trust.

Survey approach was employed to validate the research model.

Website appeal partially mediates the positive effect of product appeal on consumers’ purchase intention. Trust in e-commerce sites not only increases purchase intention directly, but it also reinforces the positive relationship between website appeal and purchase intention while attenuating the positive relationship between product appeal and purchase intention. Service content quality, search delivery quality, and enjoyment are confirmed as positive antecedents of website appeal whereas diagnosticity and justifiability are established as positive antecedents of product appeal.

This study not only delineates product and website appeal as complementary drivers of consumer purchase on e-commerce sites, but it also derives five signals that aid in bolstering both product and website appeal. Trust is revealed to exert a moderating influence on the impact of product and website appeal on purchase intention.

Practitioners should prioritize their resource allocation to enhance qualities most pertinent to product and website appeal. E-commerce sites should offer product-oriented functionalities to facilitate product diagnosticity and reassure consumers of their purchase decisions.

This study distinguishes between product and website appeal as well as between their respective antecedents. It also uncovers how trust can alter the effects of both website and product appeal on consumers’ purchase intention.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether rational and emotional appeals are more effective for small boutique hotel websites in Australia. Specifically, it assesses how attitudes towards websites, service expectations and attitudes towards boutique hotels will influence purchase intention under the two different types of appeals.

Using a systematic intercept approach, a total of 249 useable data was collected in a large suburb of Western Australia. Results were analysed using t‐test and a series of multiple regressions.

The results show boutique hotel websites that used emotional appeals performed differently to those that used rational appeals. Further analysis shows that emotional appeals evoked more favourable attitudes towards the website and attitudes towards the boutique hotel. In addition, websites that utilised emotional appeals were a stronger predictor of purchase intention.

The research focuses only on homepages of the boutique hotels. Further, the study was limited to two rational (price and service accolades) and two emotional appeals (warmth and serenity).

The study is the first to provide empirical evidence on the effectiveness of website appeals. It broadens the scope of the service communication literature by exploring rational and emotional appeals in an interactive medium.

The purpose of this paper is to determine which design and operational attributes of e-commerce websites consumers use to assess website quality. Cue utilization theory is used to examine the explanatory power, robustness and relevance of the WebQual model. Results indicate which WebQual dimensions are the most relevant and salient to website users. These dimensions are categorized by their perceived and confidence values. A second study is conducted about how website users evaluate and utilize the WebQual dimensions.

Survey methodology was utilized to provide insight into the nomological validity of the WebQual model by examining it through a cue utilization lens.

The first study categorizes the WebQual dimensions on their ability to provide a diagnostic measure of website quality, and consumer confidence in their ability to use these cues when judging the website's overall quality. The second study presents results of each dimension in relation to the quality evaluation of an actual e-commerce website. Additional analysis also revealed gender differences in cue utilization.

This study provided insight into WebQual-based research and identified original differences in cue utilization across genders. Results suggest that it may be beneficial for brand managers to focus on a subset of quality dimensions, rather than assume that consumers are comfortable using all website attributes to formulate quality judgments. These, results contribute to multiple literatures by providing a model that developers can utilize to focus on the deterministic characteristics of overall website quality. Further, the cue utilization perspective provides additional avenues for fruitful further research into consumer decision-making in the e-commerce context.

This research posits that e-vendors can use product aesthetic information (PAI) as a strategic positing tool to shape consumers’ perceptions of e-vendors’ websites.

To test this framework, variations on a garment’s color (a crucial element of product aesthetics) are presented to four different treatment groups to determine whether aesthetic treatment influences the perception of the website.

The results suggest that consumers who consider a product visually appealing also perceive the e-vendor’s website as useful, resulting in enjoyment of the shopping experience. Positive perceptions lead consumers to form positive attitudes toward the vendor’s website.

While product aesthetics is well-studied in marketing and psychology, its relevance to the e-commerce domain is relatively underexplored. To fill the void, the paper proposes a theoretical framework that explains how PAI influences buyers’ cognitive and affective evaluations of their online shopping experiences, which in turn shapes their attitudes toward e-vendors’ sites.

The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to present a framework of five “facets,” i.e., distinct but complementary ways in which the observed appeal of a consumer shopping site’s features can potentially be generalized across product/service domains (the authors call this framework the feature appeal generalization perspective); second, to determine if and how observed feature preferences for consumer electronics, bookstores, and sites “in general” generalize across domains; third, to test hypotheses about the impact of frequency of domain usage upon feature generalizability.

Via an online survey administered in a controlled laboratory setting, 313 respondents evaluated 26 website features in three domains (books, electronics, general) for a total of 24,414 preference judgments.

Two facets, individual feature values and within domain evaluative dimensions, revealed minimal generalizability, while there was moderate comparability across all domains in between domain feature correspondence. Personal preference elevation could be generalized between books and general, but not between these two and electronics. Differentiating dimensions showed that preferences were not generalizable from electronics to books and general because consumers wanted electronics features to provide “flashy sizzle” and books/general features to give “comfortable safety.” As hypothesized, patterns of generalizability coincided with frequency of domain usage.

Practitioners should not apply published studies of feature appeal to their domain of interest unless those studies directly analyzed that domain. Scientists should incorporate all five facets in modeling what attracts consumers to commercial websites.

This is the first multidimensional analysis of the generalizability of site feature appeal across business-to-consumer product/service domains, and the first to propose this integrated evaluative framework with its unique facets.

Low-cost carriers’ (LCC) worldwide market share is gaining momentum. This paper aims to propose using the expectation confirmation model (ECM) combined with brand awareness and image, website quality and visual appeal to evaluate the continuance use intention of low-cost airlines (LCA) websites.

The empirical approach was based on an online survey of 272 individuals collected in Portugal. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Brand awareness, brand image and satisfaction are the variables that best explain continuance intention. The leftover constructs can empirically explain ECM.

This study seeks to understand the significance of brand awareness and image, website quality and visual appeal in LCA websites’ confirmation and continuance use intention. Understanding the influence on confirmation and long-term viability, strategies based on these conclusions are proposed for LCC companies to better promote consumers’ continuance use intention.

了解用户在线购买廉价航空航班持续意愿的决定因素

低成本航空公司 (LCC) 的全球市场份额正在增长。 本文提出使用期望确认模型（ECM）结合品牌知名度和形象、网站质量和视觉吸引力来评估低成本航空公司（LCA）网站的持续使用意愿。

本研究的实证方法基于对在葡萄牙收集的 272 个人的在线调查。 使用结构方程模型分析数据。

品牌知名度、品牌形象和满意度是最能解释持续意向的变量。 剩余的结构可以实证地来解释 ECM。

本研究旨在了解品牌知名度和形象、网站质量和视觉吸引力在 LCA 网站确认和持续使用意图中的重要性。 了解对确认和长期生存能力的影响, 基于这些结论为 LCC 公司提出策略, 以更好地促进消费者的持续使用意愿。

Customers who engage in impulsive online shopping make immediate, unplanned and ill-thought-out purchases online. The purpose of this paper is to present a model to illustrate how website quality (moderated by hedonic value) influences impulsive shopping behaviors in the context of online tourism.

The model and hypotheses presented here were tested by structural equation modeling. Empirical data were collected by conducting a questionnaire survey, in total, 3,000 invitation messages were mailed to the members of the two travel communities (1,500 invitation messages for each one), of which, 402 were returned completed (a return rate of 13.4 percent).

Visually appealing websites are more likely to attract customer attention and illicit pleasurable emotional responses. In addition, effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, good functional benefits can help customers reduce the time and effort spent searching for a specific service and can also serve as a stimulus triggering impulse buying.

This study used a reliable multidimensional measure of factors that influence the relational benefit of initiators and buyers to help elucidate which factors encourage impulsive online shopping. From a theoretical perspective, the authors determined that website quality is positively associated with functional benefits, and thereby influences impulsive shopping behaviors; in addition, the functional benefits conferred by websites have a strong and direct influence on impulsive shopping behavior. However, this effect is moderated by hedonic value.

Online tourism retailers should continually seek to enhance this function because it is the primary motivation behind customer use of online shopping websites. Effective tourism websites also maintain good service quality and ensure accuracy of information. Finally, navigation systems should be designed to meet the needs of new users, for example by offering help pages that address a variety of topics. Therefore, tourism websites should feature an adequate number of images, a colorful design, and well-described services and products.

In recent years, the popularity of online shopping websites has continued to rise. In seeking to elucidate impulsive online shopping behaviors, this study focused on online-to-offline applications, the uses-and-gratifications perspective and service-dominant logic. The authors also discussed the important influence of website quality on impulse buying and how this is moderated by hedonic value. The research model presented in this study provides a reliable instrument to operationalize key constructs in the analysis of impulsive shopping behavior and has important implications for the online tourism industry.

While prior studies have explored the relationship between visual appeal and purchasing decisions, the role of bookmarking has largely been underemphasized. This research aims to address this gap by focusing on the impact of bookmarking on consumer behavior, guided by the cognitive load theory and dual-system theory.

The authors executed a controlled experiment and analyzed the results using a two-stage regression method that linked visual appeal, bookmarking and purchase intent. Further empirical analysis was conducted to authenticate the authors' proposed model, utilizing real-world mobile commerce data from a clothing company.

This study's findings suggest that visual appeal influences purchase intent primarily through the full mediation of bookmarking, rather than exerting a direct influence. Furthermore, an increase in colorfulness corresponds positively with visual appeal, while visual complexity exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with it.

This study provides novel insights into the choice-set formation process through the theoretical lens of dual-system theory. Additionally, the authors employed an image processing technique to quantify a product's visual appeal as depicted in a photograph. This study also incorporates a comprehensive econometric analysis to connect the objective aspects of visual appeal with subjective responses.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how an e-bank’s structure (click-and-mortar bank vs internet-only bank) influences the consumer’s evaluation of website quality, and to identify the most significant website features that influence online trust and lead to consumer loyalty.

A non-probability convenience sample of 476 online bank users (248 click-and-mortar and 230 internet-only bank users) was used in this study. An online survey was conducted. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis were used to analyze the data.

Findings suggest that e-trust and e-loyalty levels depend on the e-banking structure. Click-and-mortar-based online users were found to have more trust and loyalty in their online banks than internet-only bank users. Findings demonstrate that website features are evaluated differently according to the e-bank structure. Information design and interactivity are very important for internet-only banks, and their effect on online trust seems to be higher. On the other hand, website personalization was evaluated as more important for click-and-mortar banks and had a stronger impact on online trust.

To promote the trustworthiness of their websites and retain customers, internet-only banks should make the experience more tangible for users by developing a pleasant online experience. Personalization is an important variable that can enhance the consumer’s engagement with the brand. Click-and-mortar banks should enhance their interactivity by providing a continuous and consistent experience across different channels of distribution whether online or in-person and provide more interactive tools on their websites.

This study contributes significantly to the marketing research literature related to consumer trust as well as to the electronic banking literature. It is the first study to compare customers of click-and-mortar banks with customers of internet-only banks when evaluating website features. It also explores the impact of the e-bank model on the relationship between website features and online trust and customer loyalty.

This paper aims to empirically explore the influence of website aesthetic attributes (classical and expressive) on customer brand engagement (CBE) intention.

This research develops a framework and a few research hypothesis based on available literature on the concept of aesthetics, aesthetic attribute of websites and CBE, as well as other reliable resources, relevant theories, wherever required and tested it on the data collected from 400 respondents of the Y generation (Gen Y) of India by means of structural equations modelling using SPSS AMOS 21.

The findings indicate that expressive aesthetics of the brand Web pages of the beauty products is positively associated with drawing attention. Expressive aesthetics and classical aesthetics together explained 16% of the variance in attention. This indicates that aesthetic attributes indeed play a role in drawing the attention of the customer. However, mere attention is not sufficient to form the behavioural intention in the customer to engage with that particular brand unless the customer does get fully absorbed with aesthetic attributes of the brand Web pages.

The outcome of this research is based on the view of only 400 Gen Y individuals from the city of Indore in India. This limits its generalizability across India and other country context. This study makes important contribution to brand website aesthetic and CBE literature by empirically investigating the concept of brand website aesthetics as important in interactive marketing approach to initiate CBE intention formation. It further argues that cognitive engagement is the first and foremost engagement dimension and underscores aesthetic attributes as important in forming the customer first perception based on which subsequent CBE behavioural intention develops.

This research adds novel insight in the relationship of the brand website aesthetic attributes and CBE by studying the impact of the aesthetic attribute of brand Web pages on the two cognitive elements, namely, attention and absorption and further its effect on brand behavioural intention taking as sample of Gen Y of India.