Bleier et al. (2019)

Question 1

Online customer experience

Answer 1

Consists of four dimensions; informativeness (cognitive), entertainment (affective), social presence (social), and sensory appeal (sensory)

Question 2

Informativeness

Answer 2

Defined as ‘the extent to which a website provides consumers with resourceful and helpful information.’ It is the primary cognitive dimension of the online customer experience. It captures the functional aspect and value of the experience to the customer

Question 3

Entertainment

Answer 3

Defined as the immediate pleasure the experience offers, regardless of its ability to facilitate a specific shopping task

Question 4

Social presence

Answer 4

Refers to the warmth, sociability, and feeling of human contact that a web page confers. It can increase the tangibility and feelings of psychological closeness to a product, pleasure, arousal and low, purchase intentions, and loyalty during online shopping

Question 5

Sensory appeal

Answer 5

Includes aspects that stimulate sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. It refers to ‘the representational richness of a mediated environment as defined by its formal features.’ It can affect perceptions of product performance and purchase intentions

Question 6

Product web page

Answer 6

At the heart of the online customer experience. It consists of basic design elements (verbal and/or visual stimuli) that provide building materials for any given page

Question 7

Verbal elements

Answer 7

Involve the written word. We consider linguistic style, descriptive detail, the number of bulleted product features, and return policy information statements

Question 8

Descriptive detail

Answer 8

Captures the degree of elaboration of the product descriptions on a web page

Question 9

Trust

Answer 9

Reflects the willingness to rely on an exchange partner in whom one has confidence

Question 10

Experience products

Answer 10

The most relevant attributes are discoverable only through direct physical contact

Question 11

Search products

Answer 11

Most relevant attributes are assessable from presented information without physical interaction

Question 12

Number of bulleted features

Answer 12

Indicates how many product features appear in an abbreviated list at the top of the web page

Question 13

Return policy information

Answer 13

Refers to whether the web page contains information about the terms by which customers may return the product

Question 14

Visual elements

Answer 14

Subsume all content presented in photographic or illustrated form and can convey symbolic meaning and pictorial information

Question 15

Feature crops

Answer 15

Zoom in on a key product feature that would otherwise not be visible

Question 16

Lifestyle photos

Answer 16

Connect the product with customers’ lives, such as by depicting people using it or living with it in a regular setting

Question 17

Photo size

Answer 17

Matters because the larger the photo, the higher the purchase intention

Question 18

Product video

Answer 18

Can demonstrate the product and its key features and affect perceptions of social presence and sensory appeal

Question 19

Customer star ratings

Answer 19

User-generated product ratings, depicted visually

Question 20

Expert endorsements

Answer 20

Assembled from distinguished experts in the category

Question 21

Comparison matrices

Answer 21

Tables to compare the focal product with other products from the same category on multiple characteristics

Question 22

Recommendation agents

Answer 22

Combine verbal and visual information to generate a list of alternatives to the focal product

Question 23

Content filters

Answer 23

E.g. ‘show more’ buttons, allow customers to dictate what, when, and how much verbal and visual content appears on the web page

Question 24

Attribute information

Answer 24

Providing more generally increases product evaluations and purchase likelihood

Question 25

Study 1's aim

Answer 25

(1) Understand the relative importance of each of the four online customer experience dimensions as key mediators in the relationship between web page design elements and customer purchase, (2) Determine which of the 13 design elements are most useful in creating each experience dimension, and (3) Assess how product type and brand trustworthiness influence the effects of the experience dimesnions on purchase

Question 26

Informative experiences

Answer 26

Most effective for search products and brands that are generally well-trusted. Bulleted features exert their strongest effects on this experience type. So can comparison matrices, more descriptive detail, and recommendation agents

Question 27

Entertaining experiences

Answer 27

Pleasurable in their own right, which is especially important for less-trusted brands

Question 28

Social experiences

Answer 28

Convey a degree of human presence in the encounter. These experiences are especially effective for experience compared with search products. Linguistic style and lifestyle pictures drive this dimension particularly well

Question 29

Sensory experiences

Answer 29

Activate consumers' senses and are especially beneficial for experience products. Product videos exert their strongest effects on this dimension. Product feature crop is another important element in this dimension

Question 30

Study 2

Answer 30

Conducted a field experiment with real products and sales on Amazon.com to test the finding from Study 1 (for search products, an informative experience can increase product sales while a social experience may suppress them). Results corroborate those from Study 1.

Question 31

Linguistic style

Answer 31

Includes word choice, use of questions, pronouns, and adjectives. It can affect product conversions and consumer perceptions of website effectiveness