An executive summary for managers can be

Consumers’ perceptions found at the end of this article.

of e-shopping Internet shopping is becoming an accepted way to

purchase various types of goods and services
characteristics: an (Donthu, 1999). In 2001, online sales were $48.3
expectancy-value billion, representing an annual growth rate of 45.9
percent, and online sales are expected to grow to
approach $108 billion by 2003 (Shim et al., 2001). Through
a computer-mediated shopping environment,
online retailers have attracted consumers by
Heejin Lim and offering a reduction in search costs for products
Alan J. Dubinsky and product-related information ( Janssen and
Moraga, 2000; Shankar et al., 1999).
Attendant with the explosion in Internet
shopping is tremendously increasing interest in
The authors e-commerce research, particularly with respect to
Heejin Lim is a Doctoral Candidate and Alan J. Dubinsky is e-shopping attributes. For instance, previous
Professor, both in the Department of Consumer Sciences and researchers have examined e-store characteristics
Retailing, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. as predictors of online consumers’ intention (Shim
et al., 2001), satisfaction (Szymansky and Hise,
Keywords 2000), and acceptance of new technology
Electronic commerce, Internet, Shopping, Expectation, (Morrison and Roberts, 1998). In these studies,
Value analysis, Attitudes e-store characteristics were developed from either
qualitative research (e.g. Morrison and Roberts,
Abstract 1998; Szymansky and Hise, 2000; Yoo and
An increasing number of consumers are turning to the Internet to
Donthu, 2001) or a literature review (e.g. Shim
make their purchases. Yet, many e-tailers are going out of et al., 2001).
business or retrenching. If e-tailers hope to attract and retain Notwithstanding the extant literature, there are
satisfied online shoppers, they need to know what evaluative limitations in previous studies that demand
criteria consumers use when selecting an e-tailer. Past research attention. First, there has been discordance in
has provided some insight into what characteristics shoppers categorizing e-shopping attributes. For example,
assess in cyberspace outlets. The extant work, though, has not some studies have included the navigation function
been without its limitations. Consequently, the present study (e.g. access to the Web site, locating an item on the
utilizes a literature review, qualitative research, and quantitative
Web site) with convenience characteristics (e.g.
research to identify the underlying e-store choice dimensions of
Morrison and Roberts, 1998; Shim et al., 2001),
shoppers. In addition, results of multiple regression analysis
show that merchandise and interactivity Web attributes are yet others have classified these attributes as two
predictors of consumers’ attitude toward online shopping. independent criteria (e.g. Lohse and Spiller,
Implications for e-store managers and future research are also 1998).
provided. Another problem with prior work on e-store
dimensions lies in the inconsistent research
Electronic access methods. For example, Lohse and Spiller (1998)
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is attempted to identify attributes of online retail
available at stores in terms of merchandise, service,
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister promotion, convenience, and navigation. Their
findings, however, were predicated on a survey of
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
stores rather than consumers – thus, critical
available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0887-6045.htm
consumer input regarding e-tailer Web site
characteristics was overlooked. As a result, they
analyzed only descriptive attributes of e-stores
(e.g. merchandise, service, promotion,
convenience, navigation) but did not consider
other attributes that are reported to be important
factors affecting cyber shoppers’ online
transactions, such as security and privacy policies
Journal of Services Marketing
Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · pp. 500-513 The authors gratefully acknowledge the editor and
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0887-6045 reviewers for their valuable input and
DOI 10.1108/08876040410561839 encouragement.
500
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

(eMarketer, 2001b, c), as well as download waiting (1) a store’s “tangible or functional qualities” (e.g.
time (Dellaert and Kahn, 1999; Weinberg, 2000). merchandise selection, price ranges, credit
The foregoing weaknesses in previous research policies, store layout); and
indicate additional empirical work is needed to (2) “intangible or psychological attributes” (e.g. a
identify evaluative criteria consumers consider sense of belonging, the feeling of warmth or
when selecting a cyberspace store. By knowing friendliness, a feeling of excitement or
these criteria, e-tailers should be able to enhance interest).
the design of their commercial sites and quality of “Attributes” represent the combined concept of
service fulfillment in order to increase customers’ functional and psychological factors that exist in a
positive attitude about a given e-tailer. store. When making a store choice decision,
Consequently, a study was designed to explore consumers evaluate store alternatives on a number
consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping attributes, of store attributes (Lindquist, 1974). Patrons and
including Web site design and service fulfillment, non-patrons have different perceptions of a store’s
vis-à-vis online shopping attitude. We did so image. As such, retailers need to ensure that
utilizing an expectancy-value approach, as dimensions that their loyal customers view as being
promulgated by Fishbein and Ajzen (1975). important are designed to be attractive to them.
Although previous studies categorized e-shopping Similarly, e-store image is likely to have a major
attributes using either a literature review or influence on online customers when they
qualitative research, the present investigation determine from which e-tailer to buy. E-store
identifies e-shopping attributes through a image, though, will likely be defined differently
literature review (i.e. traditional retail stores, from bricks-and-mortar store image. After all, the
home-based shopping such as TV and paper way in which consumers shop in e-tail venues is
catalogs, online shopping), qualitative research, different from how they shop in a physical store,
and quantitative research. Exploratory factor owing to the absence of a physical store milieu.
analysis and confirmatory factor analysis are Conceivably, then, consumers seemingly will likely
conducted to create profile categories shared by assess some unique store attributes in online
multiple attributes. Then, multiple regression shopping vis-à-vis those utilized in physical store
analysis is employed to examine the impact of shopping.
these underlying e-store dimensions on Arguably, e-stores do share some common
consumers’ attitude towards online purchase. features with a physical store in terms of
An e-store can be defined as a commercial Web merchandise, service, and promotion. There is
also some similarity between traditional modes of
site on which consumers can shop and make a
in-home shopping, such as TV and catalog
purchase. E-stores can be operated by either a pure
shopping, and online shopping. Owing to the
player (i.e. a retailer that has only an online outlet)
nature of computer-mediated communication,
or a traditional retailer (i.e. a retailer that owns
however, online retail stores have unique features
both brick-and-mortar stores as well as an online
that do not exist in either the physical store or
outlet). In this study, attributes of general e-stores in-home shopping. Prior to developing e-stores’
(i.e. both pure players and traditional retailers) are unique attributes, those of the physical store and
considered. Essentially, then, the objectives of the in-home shopping (TV and catalogs) are
study are to: discussed. Features of each shopping alternative
(1) determine the underlying dimensions of are identified through a review of literature
consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping pertaining to store image and consumer store
attributes; and choice.
(2) explore their effect on consumers’ attitude
toward online purchasing.
Evaluative criteria of physical retail stores
Sheth (1983) expanded determinants of store
choice by classifying consumers’ shopping motives
into two levels: functional and non-functional.
Literature review Functional motives involve tangible features (such
as price, convenience, and merchandise
Lindquist (1974) has underlined the importance assortment); non-functional motives involve
of store image as a predictor of consumers’ store intangible features (such as store atmosphere, sales
choice. A person’s behavior is not only a function personnel service, and psychological reasons for
of knowledge and information but also is shopping). By evaluating functional and non-
predicated on the consumer’s image of a product functional qualities of a retail store simultaneously,
or store. From a marketer’s viewpoint, store image consumers form their store image (Lindquist,
is characterized by two elements: 1974). Consumers ultimately choose a store that
501
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

maximizes their satisfaction with these perceived high incidence of consumer complaints about bad
qualities (Sheth, 1983). Retail physical store quality and poor delivery with TV shopping
characteristics identified by previous researchers (Benterud and Stø, 1993). Also, consumers often
are presented in Table I. complain about out-of-stock merchandise
(Consumer Reports Buying Guide, 2000). For these
reasons, consumers likely feel impelled to pay heed
Evaluative criteria of in-home shopping to shipping and handling information, satisfaction
Traditional in-home shopping venues have guarantees, and availability of a toll-free phone
included chiefly TV and catalog shopping. number to minimize dissatisfaction from home-
Shopping via TV affords consumers the based shopping. A summary of in-home shopping
opportunity to experience convenience through attributes is presented in Table II. (It is based
reduced shopping costs vis-à-vis physical effort. A solely on paper catalog shopping research,
distinct feature of TV shopping over catalog however, as prior work has not investigated TV
shopping is the role of the host/hostess. Also, the shopping characteristics.)
entertainment aspect of TV shopping appears to
be an important factor for senior citizens (USA
Today Magazine, 1997). Catalog shopping has Evaluative criteria of e-tailers
curried consumers’ favor with enhanced Online retail stores have some similar features to
merchandise variety, as well as the reliability and physical retail stores and catalogs. For example,
security that can be garnered from established online retailers offer e-mail addresses of sales
companies. Also, consumers seem to like catalog associates or frequently asked questions (FAQ)
shopping owing to its ease of use: products tend to sections to communicate with their customers, just
be clearly portrayed, and product information as physical stores have sales personnel. Also, they
provides rapid comparisons. Moreover, telephone share common attributes with paper catalogs by
associates are available to help answer consumers’ providing consumers with the convenience of in-
questions about products and services (Consumer home shopping and purchase delivery. And like
Reports Buying Guide, 2000). catalogs, retail Web sites typically provide a toll-
In-home shopping, however, can present free telephone number through which their
certain disadvantages, such as the intangibility of customers may contact sales associates for further
products and relatively high shipping and handling information. Compared to other retail formats,
fees (thus increasing the catalog’s effective cost to however, many online retail stores have the
the consumer). For example, one study found a advantage of seemingly unlimited merchandise

Table I Relevant attributes of physical retail stores

Berry Lindquist Tigert McDaniel and Burnett
Factors Attributes (1969) (1974) (1983) (1990)
Merchandise Wide selection U U U U
Numerous brands U U
Well-known brands U U
Availability in stock U U
Price U U U
Product quality Value for money U U U
Convenience Locational convenience U U U U
Parking U U
Moving through a store U
Location of items U
Exchange U
Acceptance of credit cards U
Physical facilities Store attractiveness U U U U
Sales personnel Friendliness/courtesy U U U U
Information service U U U U
Service Ease of returns U U
Delivery service U U
Promotions Sales promotion U U
Advertising U U
Institutional factors Reputation U
Reliability U
Clientele of a store Social class appeal U
Self-image congruency U

502
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

Table II Relevant attributes of home-based shopping

Eastlick McDonald Seaver and Simpson
Catalog factors Attributes (1989) (1993) (1995)
Merchandise Quality U
Assortment U
Style U
Price U U U
Uniqueness U U
Availability of merchandise in stock U U
Convenience Accessibility U
Time-saving U
Effort-saving U
Ease of order placement U U
Method of payment U U
Ease of catalog use Easy to find merchandise U
Well-displayed merchandise U
Easy to read and understand U U
Home environment Comfort at home U
Service Guarantees U U
Ease of merchandise return U U
Delivery service U U
Promotions Clearance U
Reputation Recommendation by friends U
Well-known national brands U
Trust company’s merchandise U

and product information. Furthermore, e-tailer E-shopping attributes presented in Table III are
store design and layout have distinct features now discussed.
compared to those found in physical stores and
paper catalogs (Spiller and Lohse, 1998). Merchandise characteristics
The e-shopping attributes presented in Table III Merchandise can be defined as either goods or
were drawn from an analysis of literature services offered by a retail store (Eastlick, 1989;
pertaining to physical retail stores, paper catalogs, Lindquist, 1974). Because of the unique nature of
and e-tailers. However, store dimensions of a the Internet-mediated shopping environment,
physical store that are not applicable for online consumers’ evaluation criteria for e-tailer
outlets (e.g. clientele of the store, physical merchandise might be somewhat different from
facilities, store atmosphere) were excluded. those for traditional retailers. For instance, unlike

Table III Summary of e-shopping attributes used in previous studies

E-store factors Attributes Examples
Merchandise Product information The perceived depth of product information
Brand selection Well-known national brands
Price Merchandise price
Convenience Timely delivery Delivery on time, delivery options
Ease of ordering Fast check-out, order confirmation by e-mail
Product display Product lists with both click buttons and pictures
Interactivity Customer support Software downloading, e-form inquiry, order status checking, customer comment and
feedback
Personal-choice helper Keyword search, improved search function
Surfer postings Customers’ review of product/service experience
Reliability Reputation Company information
Security Information on transaction security
Privacy Privacy policies for personal information
Promotions Promotion on the cybermall Clearance, free shipping, frequent buyer incentives, prize for participation
home page
Navigation Time to get to home pages The time taken from ads on other sites to home pages
Expected waiting time The perceived duration of the time to download pages on the site
Waiting information Duration information at the beginning of the wait, countdown information

503
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

a physical store, e-tailers can provide customers the usability and perceived depth of online
with as much variety as they want without physical information (Lynch and Ariely, 2000; Shankar
space restrictions. Also, consumers can compare et al., 1999).
product prices more easily than ever before.
E-tailer dimensions traditionally ascribed to Convenience characteristics
merchandise-related aspects include product Convenience is a key motive behind in-home
information, brand selection, and price. shopping (Eastlick and Feinberg, 1994).
As in catalog shopping, accurate reproduction Convenience is measured by effort savings (e.g.
of descriptive and experiential product information ease of a locating a product in a store) and
is a critical factor influencing consumers’ choice in locational convenience (e.g. ease of locating a store
electronic shopping because consumers cannot and finding a parking space) (Lindquist, 1974). In
touch or see products (Alba et al., 1997; Lohse and online shopping, convenience includes timely
Spiller, 1998; Lynch and Ariely, 2000; Ward and delivery, ease of ordering, and product display
Lee, 2000). Interestingly, despite the advantage of (Lohse and Spiller, 1998).
the lower cost in delivering text and images Lohse and Spiller (1998) discerned that several
through the Internet versus paper catalogs, more factors can be subsumed under the convenience
than 50 percent of e-tailer sites provide fewer than attribute of online shopping: number of links into
three lines of text describing each product (Lohse the site, number and type of different shopping
and Spiller, 1998). modes, average number of items per product menu
Previous studies about store attributes have listing, number of lists that require scrolling,
shown that merchandise selection has an influence presence of price information in product listings,
on consumers’ store choice (Berry, 1969; and type of product lists. Among these attributes,
Lindquist, 1974; McDaniel and Burnett, 1990; they found that product display has a significant
Tigert, 1983). The vast number of product impact on site visits and sales. Specifically,
displaying product lists using both click buttons
alternatives is a key benefit for online retailers.
and pictures leads to more positive reactions from
However, Alba et al. (1997) argue that consumers
consumers than simply displaying a product list
might become tired and stressed by examining
using only a button or pictures in online catalogs.
information on hundreds of products. Lohse and
Ease of ordering appears to influence home-
Spiller (1998) dispute the importance of
shoppers’ buying decisions (Eastlick, 1989;
merchandise variety in e-tailing. In particular, their
McDonald, 1993). Therefore, order processing on
work showed that the number of products
Web sites should be easy for customers to do,
increases e-store traffic, but it does not affect sales.
Moreover, receiving order confirmations via
Apparently, whether or not an e-tailer has a
e-mail, including information about shipping,
specific product a customer is looking for is more
returns, and order tracking numbers, facilitates
important than simply having a large variety of
order-processing behavior. If order processing is
items (Lohse and Spiller, 1998). Therefore, brand time consuming and complicated, customers will
selection might well be more likely to affect likely become frustrated and give up purchasing
customers’ buying decisions and subsequent from the e-tailer (Lohse and Spiller, 1998).
e-store patronage than merchandise variety With in-home shopping, physical store
(Degeratu et al., 2000). Indeed, brand names also dimensions of convenience, such as geographical
appear to affect consumers’ buying decisions, location and parking, do not exist. Instead,
especially when they are unfamiliar with an e-tailer in-home shoppers seek convenience through use of
(Ernst & Young, 1998). Further, when consumers mail or phone shopping and through timely delivery
have difficulty in searching for products on the (to home). A Price Waterhouse Coopers study
Internet, they tend to rely on brand names (Ward revealed that “the biggest sources of dissatisfaction
and Lee, 2000). among e-shoppers had to do with gifts not arriving
Price is a key attribute for customers when on time for the [Christmas] holidays” (eMarketer,
forming perceptions of retailers (Berry, 1969; 2001d).
Eastlick, 1989; Lindquist, 1974; McDonald,
1993; Tigert, 1983). Online shopping enables Interactivity characteristics
consumers to reduce search costs and compare Interactivity on the Internet refers to the degree to
product information and prices simultaneously. which customers and retailers can communicate
This benefit, concomitantly, has accelerated directly with one another anywhere, any time
retailers’ competition and made e-tailers especially (Blattberg and Deighton, 1991). For e-tailers, the
concerned about consumers’ increasing price degree of interactivity influences the perceived
sensitivity (Shankar et al., 1999; Ward and Lee, quality of the Web site (Ghose and Dou, 1998).
2000). However, previous studies have also found Ghose and Dou (1998) surveyed 101 Web sites to
that price sensitivity can be reduced by increasing identify key interactivity factors that influence Web
504
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

site appeal by usage frequency of each factor. They the purpose of promotional activities for particular
found that customer support was the interactivity products is to encourage consumers to buy either a
aspect most frequently used by customers. In particular product or some other products. Spiller
addition to customer support, several additional and Lohse (1998) have drawn analogies among
dimensions can be classified as “interactivity” retail store, paper catalogs, and online catalogs and
characteristics – personal-choice helper, surfer have characterized e-store promotion activities as
postings, and promotion. being special offers, online games and lotteries,
E-tailers provide several types of online service links to other sites of interest, and appetizers.
that can increase interactivity with customers, such Subsequently, they have also discerned that hours
as software downloading, e-form inquiry, order of promotion on the e-store entrance appears to
status tracking, customer comment, and feedback. increase consumers’ buying decisions (Lohse and
In a physical store, customers interact with sales Spiller, 1998).
personnel; their friendliness and knowledge can
affect consumers’ purchasing decision (Berry, Reliability characteristics
1969; Lindquist, 1974; McDaniel and Burnett, Company reliability is an important criterion
1990; Tigert, 1983). On the Internet, e-tailers consumers utilize when making a store choice
offer consumers with sales clerk service in different decision (Lindquist, 1974). Consumers might
forms, such as a toll-free phone number, e-mail wish to protect themselves from unreliable e-tailers
addresses, FAQs, and customer feedback. by paying close attention to company information.
According to GVU’s WWW user surveys
Research has found that having FAQ sections and
(Graphics, Visualization, and Utilization Center,
feedback increases e-store visits and sales (Lohse
1998), reliability of online companies is the third
and Spiller, 1998). Empirical work about the usage
most important attribute consumers consider. In
frequency of customer support functions (e.g.
addition, security and privacy are gaining
e-inquiry, comments, and feedback) reveals that
increased concern among online users (Bellman
customers prefer two-way communication with
et al., 1999) and thus merit research attention.
e-tailers rather than merely being passive
In home-based shopping, a retailer’s reputation
receipients of information (Ghose and Dou,
has a significant influence on consumers’ purchase
1998).
decisions (McDonald, 1993). The provision of
Online outlets provide various forms of search
service information (including company history)
functions for customers to locate items for which
can help a customer feel more comfortable about
they are searching. Ghose and Dou (1998, p. 32)
dealing with a given firm and about sending credit
define a personal-choice helper as “a function that card information through the Internet (Lohse and
can make relatively sophisticated Spiller, 1998). So, in-depth company information
recommendations on consumers’ choices based on might abate consumers’ uncertainty and perceived
their input of preferences and decision criteria”. risk in dealing with e-retailers.
This function (such as a keyword search) gives Transactions in online shopping tend to be
customers more refined alternatives. For example, made with a credit card. However, consumers have
multi-layered information assists customers to been warned not to release their credit card
narrow down target items based on their decision information online but to make a phone order for
criteria (e.g. www.apartmentsplus.com; Shankar online purchasing (Furger, 1996). Nearly two out
et al., 1999). of three Americans do not trust e-tailers, and
Web sites provide customers with interactivity consumers are worried about the security of credit
not only with e-tailers but also with online card information ( Jeffrey, 1999). By informing
communities. Ghose and Dou (1998) found that customers about the security of online transactions,
online customers frequently use surfer postings, e-tailers can help reduce online risk perceived by
which are customers’ reports of their feelings and customers (Ernst & Young, 1998).
experiences with products and e-tailers. E-tailers Company Web sites collect a vast amount of
often provide a page of customer reviews (e.g. customer information through the Internet, which
www.amazon.com), which gives customers is a fundamental asset for companies. Consumers,
indirect experience with the products and service. in contrast, may feel uncomfortable releasing their
Consumer behavior tends to be influenced by personal information (such as credit card and
external environments, such as promotion. The social security numbers) via the Web (Ernst &
behaviorist approach in consumer research posits Young, 1998). The top privacy concern of US
that “the reinforcement of a series of behaviors will consumers appears to be whether or not a Web site
gradually bring the consumer to the desired final asks permission to share personal information with
behavior” (Wilkie, 1994, p. 271). For instance, a other companies (eMarketer, 2001c). A recent
“clearance sale” sign on a store window can report reveals that almost 65 percent of
stimulate consumer store traffic. In physical stores, respondents gave up online purchasing because of
505
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

privacy concerns (eMarketer, 2001c). Consumers Attitude toward online shopping

are discomfited when they receive e-mail from a Attitude is “a psychological tendency that is
company with which they are unfamiliar (Sheehan, expressed by evaluating a particular entity with
1999). some degree of favor or disfavor” (Eagly and
Chaiken, 1993, p. 1). Attitude has a strong
influence on consumers’ buying intention (e.g.
Navigation characteristics Ryan, 1982), the immediate precursor of actual
Lowering search costs for shopping is a key behavior (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Previous
motivation for consumers to shop online. As the studies have observed a positive association
total number of working hours of households between attitude and behavioral intention (e.g.
increases, online shopping has attracted working Chang et al., 1996; Chiou, 2000; Ryan, 1982;
families, thus enabling them to save time by Shimp and Kavas, 1984; Taylor and Todd, 1995),
purchasing products and services in a non- including in an online shopping context (Shim
traditional way. In physical-store shopping, et al., 2001). Applied to the present study, attitude
consumers seek to lower their search costs (e.g. toward online purchasing is considered to be a
time and efforts): physical effort is employed when function of the consumer’s beliefs about an
going into a store, finding products, and e-store’s characteristics and the degree of
comparing alternatives across stores (Bell et al., subjective importance a consumer attaches to
1998). In online shopping, navigation time and those attributes (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Based
efforts are analogous to the physical effort on the foregoing prior work, then, an e-tailer’s
expended to locate items in traditional shopping. failure to foster a favorable attitude toward its Web
Gupta and Chattergee (1997) define search site will likely lead consumers to eschew online
costs on the Internet as: purchases with that particular e-tailer.
(1) Internet connection time;
(2) actual time and effort taken for the user to
search an e-tailer’s site (e.g. use of online
search engines, links from related pages, Method
suggestions from newspapers/magazines/
friends); and Sample and data collection
(3) time to download information from an e-store The data were collected in a classroom setting
(which essentially depends on the connection from a convenience sample of students at a large
speed, usage charges, traffic on the network, Midwestern university. In a study of consumers’
traffic at the site, and the kind of information behavioral intentions to use different retail formats
being obtained). (e.g. retail stores, catalog, Internet), Keen (1999)
compared results between a student sample and
Internet users are not tolerant of the waiting time to mall shopper sample. The findings showed no
arrive at a Web site’s homepage. GVU’s WWW difference between the two samples in predicting
user surveys showed that consumers are confused consumer decision-making on the Internet.
by and annoyed with long waits to download an Moreover, college students deserve e-retailer
e-tailer’s homepage from Web ads (Graphics, attention because of their significant numbers vis-
Visualization, and Utilization Center, 1998). à-vis the Internet. For instance, college students
When downloading is delayed, potential spend more than 20 hours per week on the
customers are likely to drift to alternative e-tailers Internet, and 81 percent of them have made
or give up online shopping, at least for that time purchases online. Furthermore, college students
(Weinberg, 2000). are considered brand loyal and are early adopters
Consumers are more affected by their perceived of new products (FuturePages, 2002). Shortly, this
duration of download waiting time than by the actual group will enter the mainstream of the online
waiting time (Dellaert and Kahn, 1999). That is, consumer group, which is characterized as being
when the wait to download is shorter than between 34 and 45 years old, highly educated, and
expected, consumers’ satisfaction with the service well paid as compared to the general offline
increases. Conversely, if the wait is longer than population. Thus, college students should be
expected, consumers’ satisfaction decreases. considered a key target market in the long-term
Consumers are likely to feel disturbed by the success for many online businesses. For these
wait when they are uncertain about the actual reasons, the student sample used in the present
waiting duration (Weinberg, 2000). By providing investigation is seemingly appropriate for querying
waiting time information (e.g. time bar indicator at online consumers.
the bottom of the Web page), e-tailers might help Among 252 questionnaire completed,
consumers become more tolerant of the wait and approximately 75 percent of the respondents were
more favorably disposed toward the site. female. The mean age was 20.9. About 62 percent
506
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

of the respondents reported their income level to that e-store attribute (ei). Respondents were
be less than $5,999. Approximately 72 percent of queried about 16 e-shopping attributes using
the respondents had purchased a product through seven-point scales. The scales of belief strength
the Internet. were anchored from “unlikely ” (1) to “likely” (7).
The scales of evaluation were anchored from
Measures “unimportant” (1) to “important” (7). An
E-shopping attributes example of each is noted below:
. (b ) The e-tailer would provide me with high
Prior to developing questionnaire items, i

qualitative research was conducted to generate quality product information (unlikely/

important e-shopping attributes. In this likely).
. (e ) For me, high quality product information in
procedure, 29 students were given open-ended i

questionnaires. These questions were generated online buying is (unimportant/important).

from the work of Mathieson (1991). Specifically,
they queried respondents about the advantages
and disadvantages of making a purchase on the Attitude toward behavior (AB)
Internet, and their likes and dislikes about online Consistent with the work of Fishbein and Ajzen
shopping. (1975), attitude toward online purchasing was
In the qualitative research, interviews with measured by four different statements using seven-
respondents revealed that merchandise variety point semantic differential scales. Scales were
(Table IV) incorporates brand selection (Table anchored using four different terms: “dislike/like”,
III). Therefore, in this study’s final questionnaire, “foolish/wise”, “bad/good”, and “unpleasant/
merchandise variety (a physical store feature) was pleasant”. For example:
included. Also, “ease of use”, which was referred . (Y )Making a purchase on the Internet is a (bad/
1
to in our literature review, was combined with good) idea.
“ease of ordering” (Table III), owing to their
overlapping nature. A pretest was conducted to
check clarity of measurement items in the final
study questionnaire. Ambiguous sentences were Data analysis
revised. Data were analyzed using both factor analysis and
Fishbein’s expectancy-value measures have confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Factor
been used as a person’s “evaluative implications of analysis attempts to identify hypothetical variables
an underlying cognitive structure” (Fishbein and that explain the pattern of correlations within a set
Middlestadt, 1995, p. 186). An expectancy-value of observed variables. While exploratory factor
measure is obtained by multiplying a person’s analysis attempts to identify the minimum number
behavioral belief that an object possesses a certain of common factors that represent correlations
attribute (bi) by the degree of subjective among the observed variables before developing
importance the person attaches to the object’s hypotheses, CFA provides self-validating
attribute (ei) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975). Applied information for a given hypothesis (Kim and
to this study, the degree to which a respondent Mueller, 1978). That is, the purpose of conducting
believed e-tailer Web sites possess a certain CFA is to build a model “assumed to describe,
attribute (bi) was multiplied by the degree of explain, or account for the empirical data in terms
subjective importance the respondent attached to of relatively few parameters” (Jöreskog and
Sörbom, 1993, p. 22). CFA was employed to
Table IV Beliefs about e-shopping attributes (qualitative research) confirm the e-store attribute classifications
obtained in the factor analysis. In addition to these,
Number mentioning
Advantages/disadvantages of online attributes
multiple regression analysis was conducted to
purchases (n 5 29) Percentage investigate the underlying Web site dimensions
obtained in the CFA on consumers’ attitude
Price 19 65.5 toward online shopping.
Security 19 65.5
Timely delivery 9 31.0
Quality guarantees 9 31.0
Difficulty of return and exchanges 7 24.1 Results
Reliability of a retailer 7 24.1
Merchandise variety 6 20.7 Exploratory factor analysis
Product information 5 17.2 The SPSS computer software extracted four
Download/process time 5 17.2 factors from 16 observed variables (consumer
Ease of use 4 13.8 evaluative perceptions of e-shopping attributes)
Real-time customer service 3 10.3 using principal component analysis and Varimax
507
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

rotation. Factor analysis revealed four underlying In essence, CFA identified four distinct
dimensions with eigenvalues greater than 1.0 and a dimensions of e-shopping attributes: merchandise,
communality of 59.7 percent. The resulting interactivity, reliability, and navigation
factors generally emerged as expected for characteristics. Merchandise consisted of product
e-shopping characteristics, except for the information (l ¼ 0:707, p , 0:001) and variety of
promotion characteristic. Promotion loaded on merchandise (l ¼ 0:757, p , 0:001); interactivity,
factor 2 (i.e. interactivity characteristics). Factor customer support (l ¼ 0:653, p , 0:001) and
loadings ranged from 0.347 to 0.876, which personal-choice helper (l ¼ 0:610, p , 0:001);
exceed the threshold value of 0.30 (Kim and reliability, an e-tailer’s good reputation
Mueller, 1978). However, delivery, ease of (l ¼ 0:883, p , 0:001), security (l ¼ 0:633,
ordering, and product display on Web pages were p , 0:001), and privacy (l ¼ 0:652, p , 0:001);
excluded in subsequent analyses because of their and navigation, time to get to an e-tailer’s
crossloading on factors 1 and 2. The final results of homepage (l ¼ 0:878, p , 0:001) and time to
the exploratory factor analysis are presented in download Web pages on the Web site (l ¼ 0:687,
Table V. p , 0:001). The e-shopping attributes confirmed
in the final analysis were grouped into four
different e-shopping characteristics.
Confirmatory factor analysis
CFA was conducted to confirm the prespecifed Multiple regression analysis
dimensions obtained in the foregoing exploratory Table VII summarizes the results of multiple
factor analysis. In general, the results supported a regression analysis. The VIF index showed no
measurement model that included four overriding significant multicollinearity problem (Neter et al.,
characteristics (x220 ¼ 21:43; RMSEA ¼ 0:018, 1996). The four independent variables (i.e.
GFI ¼ 0:980). Price, other customers’ postings, merchandise, interactivity, reliability, and
promotions, and provision of waiting information navigation) revealed in the CFA were regressed
were removed from the measurement model owing across consumers’ attitude toward online
to reliabilities of less than 0.30 (Bettencourt and shopping. The overall model is significant
Brown, 1997; Table VI – only final results are (R2 ¼ 0:17, F 4;247 ¼ 13:01, p , 0:001). The
shown). Other than these attributes, all results indicate that consumers’ attitude toward
standardized factor loadings were statistically online purchasing is a function (positively) of
significant (p , 0:001). The validity of the merchandise (b ¼ 0:25, p , 0:001) and reliability
measures was examined by the index of the (b ¼ 0:19, p , 0:01) attributes. Interestingly,
proportion-of-variance extracted. All proportions though, their attitude is not significantly related
in the index were higher than 0.50, which indicates (p . 0:05) to interactivity or navigation Web site
that the overall amount of variance in e-shopping dimensions.
attributes was captured by the corresponding
characteristics reported in Table VI (Hair et al.,
1998).
Discussion
Table V Results of exploratory factor analysis
The findings of this study present important
Factor loadings e-shopping attributes that consumers consider in
E-shopping attributes Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4
their e-tailer evaluations. For merchandising
Product information 0.695 characteristics, consumers appear to focus on
Variety of merchandise 0.783 product information when they evaluate e-tailers.
Comparatively low price 0.579 Previous research suggests that online shoppers
Customer support 0.539 seek detailed information about products and
Personal choice helper 0.474 services rather than sensory attributes, such as
Other customers’ postings 0.815 visual cues (Degeratu et al., 2000). This may be
Promotions 0.439 largely attributed to the nature of Internet
Good reputation 0.667 shopping in which consumers cannot touch or see
Security 0.868
a product. Accordingly, consumers tend to rely on
Privacy 0.876
product information provided by e-tailer Web
Time to get to home pages 0.724
pages. This result is consistent with those obtained
Time to download Web pages 0.837
in previous studies (Lynch and Ariely, 2000; Ward
Waiting information 0.657
Cronbach’s a 0.688 0.617 0.610 0.843
and Lee, 2000). Also, online consumers appear to
seek a variety of merchandise through online
Notes: Extraction method: principal component analysis; rotation method: Varimax
shopping; this finding is also consistent with
with Kaiser normalization
consumers’ reactions in physical retail stores and
508
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

Table VI Results of measurement model: confirmatory factor analysis

Factor Total-item Proportion of
E-shopping attributes loadings t-values reliabilitya variance extracted
Merchandise characteristics 0.71 0.78
Product information 0.707 10.31 0.50
Variety of merchandise 0.757 10.97 0.57

Interactivity characteristics 0.57 0.70

Customer-support 0.653 8.71 0.43
Personal choice-helper 0.610 8.25 0.38

Reliability characteristics 0.84 0.76

Good reputation 0.883 12.65 0.78
Security 0.633 9.18 0.40
Privacy 0.652 9.50 0.43

Navigation characteristics 0.76 0.81

Time to get to home pages 0.878 11.24 0.77
Time to download Web pages 0.687 9.33 0.47

Indices of goodness-of-fit
Chi-square (df) 21.43 (20)
RMSEA 0.018
GFI 0.980
AGFI 0.955
NFI 0.972
Note: aItalicized entries in this column represent overall reliability for each construct

Table VII Results of multiple regression analysis face communication with sales associates, e-tailers
Attitude provide a similar service through either personal
Mean SD Standardized coefficients t-value interactivity (i.e. call center) or machine
interactivity, such as customer support (i.e.
Merchandise 30.59 9.71 0.254 3.737* downloading software, e-form inquiry, order
Interactivity 26.19 8.83 0.189 2.789*
tracking) and choice helpers. The findings of our
Reliability 33.29 9.68 2 0.004 2 0.060
study confirm that customer support and choice
Navigation 29.69 9.17 0.078 1.112
helpers are key interactivity dimensions of e-stores.
R25 0.17 (F4,247 5 13.01, p < 0.001)
Reliability has emerged as a critical influence on
Notes: n = 252; *significant at the 0.01 level consumers’ purchase decisions in home-based
shopping (McDonald, 1993). In online
in-home shopping (such as TV and paper transactions, consumers are likely to release
catalogs). In addition, the findings of multiple personal information as well as credit card
regression analysis imply that the merchandise information. Accordingly, they tend to be more
attribute is positively associated with respondents’ careful than in traditional store shopping by
attitude toward online purchase. examining e-tailer credibility prior to making a
In the online shopping literature, the term purchase. In determining an e-retailer’s reliability,
“interactivity” has been used to refer to different consumers appear to evaluate e-tailers’ reputation,
as well as security and privacy policies. Also, the
e-store characteristics:
result of multiple regression analysis reveals that
(1) speed of interactivity between a person and
reliability is a significant predictor of respondents’
related devices (i.e. computers, modems) (e.g.
attitude toward online purchase.
Alba et al., 1997; Novak et al., 2000); and
In online shopping, customers tend to be
(2) interactivity between a customer and e-tailers
sensitive to waiting time (Dellaert and Kahn,
(e.g. Ghose and Dou, 1998).
1999). Despite its importance in predicting
In our study, interactivity was observed to be a consumer behavior on the Internet, many
service that customers can receive from the researchers have not delineated navigation
Internet, just as they can from a salesperson in a characteristics clearly. Instead, they have tended to
bricks and mortar store. Through online shopping, employ a single term – “ease of browsing” – and
customers and retailers use different forms of included it under “convenience” dimensions (e.g.
communication. While the physical store provides Shim et al., 2001; Szymansky and Hise, 2000).
customers with personal interaction via face-to- The results of our factor analysis, however, reveal
509
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

that navigation dimensions constitute an the present work also highlight the importance
independent construct, which is characterized by: online shoppers place on the variety of
.
time required to get to the e-tailer’s merchandise in an online outlet. By utilizing
homepage; and consumer profiles and sales tracks, e-tailers should
.
time required to download an e-tailer’s Web be able to provide the variety of merchandise that
page. meets their customers’ needs and preferences.
Reliability of e-tailers was found to be a
The findings obtained demonstrate that
significant factor when customers evaluate a
consumers’ attitude toward online shopping is
positively related to their perceptions of Web site commercial site, as well as influencing consumers’
merchandise and reliability attributes, but online purchase attitude. Indeed, one consumer
surprisingly unrelated to interactivity or navigation survey showed that about 88 percent of online
characteristics. Specifically, consumers develop a consumers make a purchase through the Internet
positive affect toward online shopping to the extent using credit cards. It also reported that about 60
that they perceive a Web site to provide detailed percent of Internet users are concerned about their
product information and merchandise variety, as credit card number being stolen when using a
well as mechanisms that enhance feelings of trust commercial Web site (eMarketer, 2001e).
in the e-tailer. Interestingly, though, consumers’ Furthermore, privacy has emerged as a critical
affect is seemingly unrelated to a their perceptions concern among online consumers. Although
of an e-tailer’s offering customer support and customers’ personal information is a crucial asset
personal-choice helpers or Web site navigation for retailers, online shoppers appear to have fears
speed. The latter two findings may be a function of about revealing their personal information on the
the state of current Web sites. Adequate customer Internet. To convince online customers that their
support and navigation speed are a necessary, but personal information will not be violated, e-tailers
insufficient, condition for e-tailer success. Because should provide consumers with their privacy
of early Internet shoppers’ complaints about poor polices, as well as a guarantee that the information
Web site design, interactivity quality, and will not be misused (eMarketer, 2001a).
navigation speed (Dellaert and Kahn, 1999), Although interactivity of e-tailers was found to
perhaps e-tailers have made steadfast efforts to be a significant factor when customers evaluate a
enhance these qualities. If so, online shoppers may commercial site, it was not discerned to influence
have reduced their former concerns about these consumers’ online purchase attitude. This finding,
two attributes, thus vitiating the impact of these however, does not imply that e-tailers should
two attributes on online shopping attitudes. ignore interactivity issues. CFA results suggest that
online customers desire the equivalent quality of
Managerial implications service that might be provided in a physical store,
Through Internet commercial sites, online such as two-way communication between
marketers can collect a plethora of consumer shoppers and salespeople. As such, online
information, such as age, gender, and zip code. shoppers apparently expect to experience a high
Also, they can track consumers’ interests and degree of customer service from e-tailers in the
preferences. To parlay this data rich advantage of forms of software downloading, e-form inquiry,
electronic commerce, online marketers should order status tracking, customer comments, and
understand consumers’ online shopping behavior feedback: so, such tools should be provided by
so that they can develop effective marketing e-stores.
programs. Online customers appear to be sensitive to the
The current study explored consumers’ waiting time required to download Web pages
evaluative criteria of an online retail outlet. The (Dellaert and Kahn, 1999; Weinberg, 2000),
findings of this study are helpful for e-tailers as a although it is not associated with their attitude
general guideline for Web site design. In terms of toward online purchasing. Notwithstanding this
merchandising and its positive relationship with result, CFA findings suggest that e-tailers still need
consumers’ attitude toward online purchasing, to be circumspect about Web site waiting time
e-tailers should pay acute attention to the contents given that it is an evaluative criteria of online
of their Web pages through which consumers reach shoppers. Waiting time on the Internet may vary
purchase decisions without physically touching or because of several factors: the extent of
seeing a product. In particular, online consumers sophistication of a Web page, the number of
appear to place emphasis on quality product graphics on a Web page, and the number of people
information. Moreover, effective descriptions of who log on to the Internet. Although e-tailers
the products on an e-tailer’s Web site have been cannot control every factor that affects
found to mitigate online customers’ price downloading time, they can design their Web
sensitivity (Shankar et al., 1999). The findings of pages to be time-efficient. This does not mean Web
510
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

designers should forego cutting-edge graphic characteristics of an online store as a predictor of

technology. Rather, they should avoid extensive online shopping behavior may vary depending on
utilization of graphics and animations, as well as the product category – and even, perhaps, owing
consider downloading time when they design to the brand being sold (e.g. manufacturer/service
e-tailer sites (Dellaert and Kahn, 1999). principal’s brand versus an e-tailer’s own brand).
Consequently, e-tailers should consider how to Also, there might be other factors that influence
provide customers with detailed product shoppers’ evaluations of an e-tailer, such as the
information and increased interactivity without level of their expertise or experience in online
annoying them with excessive downloading time. shopping: so, such variables should be examined in
subsequent work.
Limitations and future research
This study employed a student group to measure
their attitudinal beliefs about online retail outlets.
Although college students account for a major References
portion of online consumer groups, the sample
may be biased toward those who are younger and Alba, J., Lynch, J., Weitz, B., Janiszewski, C., Lutz, R., Sawyer, A.
more educated compared to the general consumer and Wood, S. (1997), “Interactive home shopping:
population. Also, 75 percent of the sample consumer, retailer, and manufacturer incentives to
consisted of females and 19 percent had not made participate in electronic marketplaces”, Journal of
an online purchase: this situation may decrease Marketing, Vol. 61, July, pp. 38-53.
Bell, D.R., Ho, T.-H. and Tang, C.S. (1998), “Determining where to
representativeness. Accordingly, the results of the
shop: fixed and variable costs of shopping”, Journal of
current work might not generalize to the general Marketing Research, Vol. 35, pp. 352-69.
consumer population. Also, the study is Bellman, S., Lohse, G.L. and Johnson, E.J. (1999), “Predictors of
geographically limited, because data were online buying behavior”, Communications of the ACM,
collected from a Midwestern university. Therefore, Vol. 42 No. 12, pp. 32-8.
utilizing a random sampling of general consumers Benterud, T. and Stø, E. (1993), “TV-shopping in Scandinavia:
nationwide should help overcome these consumer satisfaction, dissatisfaction and complaining
shortcomings. behavior”, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction,
Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, Vol. 6,
In characterizing e-store image, previous
pp. 196-203.
researchers have not been lucid about which Berry, L.L. (1969), “The components of department store image:
dimensions characterize interactivity. Novak et al. a theoretical and empirical analysis”, Journal of Retailing,
(2000) identify interactivity solely in terms of Vol. 45 No. 1, pp. 3-20.
speed. They found that Web site design affects Bettencourt, L.A. and Brown, S.W. (1997), “Contact employees:
speed of interactivity between online consumers relationships among workplace fairness, job satisfaction
and the medium (i.e. computer, related device) in and prosocial service behaviors”, Journal of Retailing,
Vol. 73 No. 1, pp. 39-61.
measuring customer experience on the Internet.
Blattberg, R.C. and Deighton, J. (1991), “Interactive marketing:
However, in terms of the scales that measure exploring the age of addressability”, Sloan Management
interactivity – which is equivalent to navigation Review, Vol. 31 No. 1, pp. 5-14.
characteristics in our study – Novak et al.’s study Chang, Y., Burns, L.D. and Noel, C.J. (1996), “Attitudinal versus
had almost identical items as ours: normative influence in the purchase of brand-name casual
(1) waiting time between a person’s actions and apparel”, Family and Consumer Sciences Research
the computer’s response; and Journal, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 79-109.
(2) Web page downloading time. Chiou, J.-S. (2000), “Antecedents and moderators of behavioral
intention: differences between US and Taiwanese
Thus, the term interactivity needs further research students”, Genetic, Social, and General Psychology
in order to clearly define this characteristic. Monographs, Vol. 126 No. 1, pp. 105-24.
This study examined consumers’ evaluative Consumer Reports Buying Guide (2000), “Catalog shopping”,
pp. 14-15.
criteria for an e-tailer without specifying a product
Degeratu, A., Rangaswamy, A. and Wu, J. (2000), “Consumer
category. However, store characteristics that affect choice behavior in online and traditional supermarkets:
store image may differ across product types and the effects of brand name, price, and other search
store types (Klein, 1998; Tigert, 1983). For attributes”, International Journal of Research in
instance, Yoo and Donthu (2001) found different Marketing, Vol. 17, pp. 55-78.
effects of each site quality (i.e. ease of use, aesthetic Dellaert, B. and Kahn, B.E. (1999), “How tolerable is Dealy?
design, processing speed, security) on consumers’ Consumers’ evaluations of Internet Web sites after
waiting”, Journal of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 1,
decision-making across different product
pp. 41-54.
categories (e.g. apparel, electronics, food and Donthu, N. (1999), “The Internet shopper”, Journal of
drink, music, etc.) Therefore, future research Advertising Research, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp. 52-8.
should seek to develop different sets of e-shopping Eagly, A.H. and Chaiken, S. (1993), The Psychology of Attitudes,
attributes within a specific context. The resulting Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, London.
511
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

Eastlick, M.A. (1989), “Shopping motives of the mail-catalog Lynch, J.G. and Ariely, D. (2000), “Wine online: search cost affect
shopper”, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue competition on price, quality, and distribution”, Marketing
University, West Lafayette, IN. Science, Vol. 19 No. 1, pp. 83-103.
Eastlick, M.A. and Feinberg, R.A. (1994), “Gender differences in McDaniel, S.W. and Burnett, J.J. (1990), “Consumer religiosity
mail-catalog patronage motives”, Journal of Direct and retail store evaluative criteria”, Journal of the
Marketing, Vol. 8 No. 2, pp. 37-44. Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 101-12.
eMarketer (2001a), ePrivacy & Security Report, New York, NY. McDonald, W.J. (1993), “Consumer preference structure
eMarketer (2001b), “Privacy fears online”, available at: analysis: a managerial tool for understanding apparel
www.emarketer.com catalog market competition”, Journal of Direct Marketing,
eMarketer (2001c), “The great online privacy debate: Part 2”, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 20-31.
available at: www.emarketer.com Mathieson, K. (1991), “Predicting user intentions: comparing the
eMarketer (2001d), “Xmas e-tailing: more on-time deliveries, technology acceptance model with the theory of planned
more dissatisfaction”, available at: www.emarketer.com behavior”, Information Systems Research, Vol. 2 No. 3,
eMarketer (2001e), “eConsumers get lots of credit”, available pp. 173-91.
at: www.emarketer.com Morrison, P.D. and Roberts, J.H. (1998), “Matching electronic
Ernst & Young (1998), “Internet shopping: an Ernst & Young distribution channels to product characteristics: the role of
special report”, Stores, Suppl. 2, pp. 1-29. congruence in consideration set formation”, Journal of
Fishbein, M. and Ajzen, I. (1975), Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Business Research, Vol. 41 No. 3, pp. 223-9.
Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research, Neter, J., Wasserman, W., Nachtsheim, C.J. and Kutner, M.H.
Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA. (1996), Applied Linear Statistical Models, McGraw-Hill/
Fishbein, M. and Middlestadt, S. (1995), “Noncognitive effects Irwin, Chicago, IL.
on attitude formation and change: fact or artifact?”, Novak, T.P., Hoffman, D.L. and Yung, Y.F. (2000), “Measuring the
Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 181-202. customer experience in online environment: a structural
Furger, R. (1996), “Shopping online: what you need to know”, modeling approach”, Marketing Science, Vol. 19 No. 1,
PC World, 14 June, pp. 320-1. pp. 22-42.
FuturePages (2002), “Why is it important to reach college Ryan, M.J. (1982), “Behavioral intention formation: the
students?”, available at: www.futurepages.com/mk- interdependency of attitudinal and social influence
demo.cfm variables”, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 9,
Ghose, S. and Dou, W. (1998), “Interactive functions and their pp. 263-78.
Seaver, B.L. and Simpson, E. (1995), “Mail order catalog design
impacts on the appeal of Internet presence sites”, Journal
and consumer response behavior: experimentation and
of Advertising Research, March/April, pp. 29-43.
analysis”, Journal of Direct Marketing, Vol. 9 No. 3,
Graphics, Visualization, and Utilization Center (1998), “GVU’s
pp. 8-20.
WWW user surveys”, available at: www.gvu.gatech.edu
Shankar, V., Rangaswamy, A. and Pusateri, M. (1999), “The
Gupta, S. and Chattergee, R. (1997), “Consumer and corporate
online medium and customer price sensitivity”, working
adoption of the World Wide Web as a commercial
paper, eBusiness Research Center (eBRC), Penn State
medium”, in Peterson, R.A. (Ed.), Electronic Marketing and
University, University Park, PA.
the Consumer, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, CA,
Sheehan, K.B. (1999), “An investigation of gender differences in
pp. 123-38.
online privacy concerns and resultant behavior”, Journal
Hair, J.F. Jr, Anderson, R.E., Tatham, R.L. and Black, W.C. (1998),
of Interactive Marketing, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 24-38.
Multivariate Data Analysis, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Sheth, J.N. (1983), “An Integrative theory of patronage
Cliffs, NJ. preference and behavior”, in Darden, W.R. and Lusch, R.F.
Janssen, M. and Moraga, J.L. (2000), “Pricing, consumer search, (Eds), Patronage Behavior and Retail Management, North-
and the size of Internet markets”, working paper, available Holland, New York, NY, pp. 9-28.
at: http://ecommerce.mit.edu/papers Shim, S., Eastlick, M.A., Lotz, S.L. and Warrington, P. (2001), “An
Jeffrey, D. (1999), “Study says 2 of 3 consumers still leery of Web online prepurchase intentions model: the role of intention
purchasing”, Billboard, Vol. 111 No. 36, p. 85. to search”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77 No. 3, pp. 397-416.
Jöreskog, K. and Sörbom, D. (1993), LISREL 8: Structural Shimp, T.A. and Kavas, A. (1984), “The theory of reasoned action
Equation Modeling with the SIMPLIS Command Language, applied to coupon usage”, Journal of Consumer Research,
SSI, Chicago, IL. Vol. 11, p. 1984.
Keen, C.N. (1999), “The attribute structure of Internet shopping: Spiller, P. and Lohse, G.L. (1998), “A classification of Internet
what is important and what tradeoffs are possible retail stores”, International Journal of Electronic
between Internet, retail, and catalog formats?”, Commerce, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 29-56.
unpublished doctoral dissertation, Purdue University, West Szymansky, D. and Hise, R.T. (2000), “E-satisfaction: an initial
Lafayette, IN. examination”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 76 No. 3,
Kim, J.-O. and Mueller, C.W. (1978), Factor Analysis: Statistical pp. 309-22.
Methods and Practical Issues, Sage Publications, Beverly Taylor, S. and Todd, P.A. (1995), “Decomposition and crossover
Hills, CA. effects in the theory of planned behavior: a study of
Klein, L.R. (1998), “Evaluating the potential of interactive media consumer adoption intentions”, International Journal of
through a new lens: search versus experience goods”, Research in Marketing, Vol. 12, pp. 137-55.
Journal of Business Research, Vol. 41 No. 3, pp. 195-204. Tigert, D.J. (1983), “Pushing the hot buttons for a successful
Lindquist, J.D. (1974), “Meaning of image: a survey of empirical retailing strategy”, in Darden, W.R. and Lusch, R.F. (Eds),
and hypothetical evidence”, Journal of Retailing, Vol. 50 Patronage Behavior and Retail Management, North-
No. 4, pp. 29-38. Holland, New York, NY, pp. 89-113.
Lohse, G.L. and Spiller, P. (1998), “Electronic shopping: how do USA Today Magazine (1997), “Changing attitudes toward TV
customer interfaces produce sales on the Internet?”, shopping”, USA Today Magazine, Vol. 126 No. 2627,
Communications of the ACM, Vol. 41 No. 7, pp. 81-7. pp. 9-10.
512
 Consumers’ perceptions of e-shopping characteristics Journal of Services Marketing
Heejin Lim and Alan J. Dubinsky Volume 18 · Number 7 · 2004 · 500-513

Ward, M.R. and Lee, M.J. (2000), “Internet shopping, consumer (4) Navigation characteristics – the time taken to
search and product branding”, Journal of Product & Brand get to an e-tailer’s homepage, and to download
Management, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 6-18. the e-tailer’s Web pages.
Weinberg, B.D. (2000), “Don’t keep your Internet customers
waiting too long at the (virtual) front door”, Journal of
Interactive Marketing, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 30-8.
Wilkie, W.L. (1994), Consumer Behavior, Wiley, New York, NY.
Yoo, B. and Donthu, N. (2001), “Developing a scale to measure
Importance of the merchandise and
the perceived quality of an Internet shopping site
(SITEQUAL)”, Journal of Electronic Commerce, Vol. 2 No. 1, reliability variables
pp. 31-45. Lim’s research among a sample of students at a
large university in Midwestern USA reveals that
consumers’ attitude towards online purchasing is
significantly affected by the merchandise and
Executive summary and implications for reliability variables, but not by the interactivity or
managers and executives navigation characteristics.
E-tailers therefore need to pay significant
This summary has been provided to allow managers attention to the contents of their Web pages.
and executives a rapid appresciation of the content of Indeed, previous research has found that the more
the article. Those with a particular interest in the topic effective descriptions are of the products available
covered may then read the article in toto to take through a Web site, the less sensitive to price the
advantage of the research undertaken and its results to Web site’s customers become. E-tailers can seek to
get the full benefit of the material present. ensure that they have the right variety of
merchandise available by using consumer profiles
Growing numbers of customers are turning to the and tracking the sales they make through the site.
Internet to buy goods and services, yet many E-tailers also need to ensure that they are
online retailers are either cutting back or going out perceived as reliable. One customer survey showed
of business entirely. If online retailers are to retain that about 88 percent of online customers make a
customers and attract new ones, they need to know purchase through the internet using credit cards,
the criteria consumers use when selecting and but 60 percent of Internet users are concerned
evaluating an e-tailer. about their credit card number being stolen when
using a commercial Web site. Moreover, shoppers
appear to have fears about revealing other personal
Four main e-shopping characteristics information on the Internet. To help to allay these
Lim identifies four main e-shopping fears, e-tailers should spell out their privacy
characteristics: policies, and guarantee that the information
(1) Merchandise – the product information and customers provide will not be misused.
variety of merchandise offered. Purchasers on
the Web, unlike customers in a shop, decide
whether or not to buy a product without The interactivity and navigation variables
physically touching or seeing it, and so need The apparent unimportance of the interactivity
high quality product information and a decent and navigation variables does not imply that
variety of merchandise available for purchase. e-tailers should ignore these issues. The findings
(2) Interactivity – the customer support and may result from the fact that modern Web sites
service that customers can receive from the tend to provide adequate customer support and
Internet, just as they can from a salesperson in navigation speeds, so customers may have come to
a brick and mortar store. E-tailers can provide accept them as “given”. Nevertheless, e-tailers
such support and service through a call centre, should ensure that their Web sites offer quality
or through special software that provides service through, for example, software
facilities such as choice-helpers and downloading, e-form inquiry, order status
computerised order tracking. tracking, customer feedback and so on. And
(3) Reliability – an e-tailer’s good reputation, plus e-tailers must be sure that their customers do not
security and privacy. In online transactions, have to suffer long downloading times.
consumers are likely to have to release
personal and credit card information. They (A précis of the article “Consumers’ perceptions of
therefore tend to be more careful than in e-shopping characteristics: an expectancy-value
traditional store shopping, by examining the approach”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for
e-tailer’s credibility before making a purchase. Emerald.)

513