Web-Store Aesthetics in E- Retailing: A Conceptual Framework and Some Theoretical Implications

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study examines the role of aesthetic design in Web-based stores. Designing Web-based stores involves the application of knowledge from diverse fields such as marketing and human-computer interaction. We integrate research findings from different areas to propose that the role of aesthetics can be examined using a conceptual framework that takes into account the contingent nature of the consumer, the product, and the shopping process. We also suggest that two subdimensions of Web aesthetics, termed "classical" and "expressive," may aid in understanding and shaping consumer behavior on the Internet. We develop theoretical arguments and propositions, and present some examples to illustrate our approach as to the different products that can be sold under different Web designs. Keywords: aesthetics, consumer behavior, e-retailing, human-computer interaction, marketing, Web-store design. INTRODUCTION The introduction of e-commerce "is the most wide-ranging and significant area of current development in marketing" (Barwise, Elberse, and Hammond 2002). Thanks to the power of telecommunications and information technologies, consumers can now access information about vendors more easily than ever before. Moreover, new software tools make it easy for consumers to compare and assess the quality, image, and price of products. The result of this might be the shrinking of the already diminishing profits of today's vendors (Berthon, Holbrook, and Hulbert 2000). The crowded field of competitors in B2C e-commerce indicates that achieving long-term success in Web retailing requires e-vendors to adhere to traditional economic and marketing principles and apply traditional marketing strategies. These trends increase the importance of how potential consumers view Web-stores. Previous studies have indicated that design decisions made by the retailer influence consumer perceptions of the retailer and their intentions to shop at those sites (Jarvenpaa and Tractinsky 1999; Zhang and von Dran 2000). Yet, while there is now a growing body of research on consumer behavior in electronic retail settings, little research has been done to date on the specific question of why consumers prefer one Web-based retailer over a competing retailer. In addition, answers to this question depend upon the type of products sought (Tractinsky and Lowengart 2003). Thus, consumers weigh various store attributes differently when shopping for low- or high-risk products (Jarvenpaa et al. 2000; Lowengart and Tractinsky 2001). Consumers also weigh design attributes of Web-stores differently, depending on the type of product or service offered by those sites Zhang et al. (2001). One such Web-store attribute is the aesthetic design. Over the years, the term "aesthetics" has been defined and used differently in various domains of inquiry (cf. Lavie and Tractinsky 2004; Schmitt and Simonson 1997). While the term covers a broad range of phenomena, in this paper we refer to aesthetics in its narrow (yet common) sense as "an artistically beautiful or pleasing appearance" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language), or as "a pleasing appearance or effect: Beauty" (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary). In other words, in this paper the terms "aesthetics" and "beauty" are interchangeable. We further clarify our position by considering the following potential distinctions. Firstly, an important debate in the study of aesthetics relates to the question of whether aesthetics is an attribute of the object or is perceived subjectively by the observer (cf Porteous 1996). In this manuscript we adopt the subjective approach to the study of beauty. Still, as various studies have demonstrated, there is often a wide agreement among observers regarding what constitutes an aesthetic object (e.g., Tractinsky 1997; Veryzer and Hutchinson 1998). Secondly, aesthetic evaluations of an artifact can be both (a) made in strictly perceptual terms and (b) mediated by cognitive evaluation of the artifact's appearance (e. …