# Webcam Eye Tracking for Monitoring Visual Attention in Hypothetical Online Shopping Tasks
## 5 Discussion
The effect of human models attracting visual attention observed in our study matches findings of other studies examining gaze behaviour on e-commerce websites offering clothing. Research by [PERSON] et al. [40] and [PERSON] and [PERSON] [30] show that product depictions of clothing worn by human models receive more visual attention than product depictions with clothing presented on torso mannequins. This means that online shoppers are visually stimulated by model images [30], at least when the model is of high visual appeal; that is, if it fits well with the product to be sold [41]. The clothes displayed on a human model help consumers to assess the shape and the fit better than on a torso mannequin, which may evoke positive emotional responses and support customers' decision making [30; 42]. In addition, it can increase purchase intention [43]. Whether or not the models' heads are shown seems to be of secondary importance in this context [43; 44]. Research by [PERSON] et al. [44], contrasting realistic mannequins with and without heads, shows that while in physical stores mannequins with heads increase purchase intention and help customers to better evaluate the clothing presented, the style of the mannequin has no influence when products are presented in an online store. A few recommendations can be derived from the above. First, online retailers selling clothing should consider position effects when presenting their products. Depending on the objective, online retailers have several options: Since both horizontal and vertical position affect visual attention, they might consider changing the positions [45], i.e., the row and the column, of product depictions periodically if they want to promote all products equally. Clothing that needs to be particularly promoted could be placed in areas that receive the most visual attention, that is, in the upper middle parts of a website. It might also be useful to arrange product depictions in only two columns to reduce a bias to the centre, and categorize them to direct more visual attention to the lower parts of a website (cf. [38]). Second, online retailers should bear in mind that presenting clothing on human models can increase customers' visual attention. If the goal is to promote sales of certain products, these products should be presented by human models, not just by torso mannequins. If no product should be highlighted, then all products should be presented in the same way. In this respect, it could be a competitive advantage over other online retailers if all clothing items are presented on models, as this form of presentation makes it easier for customers to assess the fit and to make a purchase decision [30]. Whether realistic mannequins achieve the same effect in terms of directing visual attention as human models was not investigated in this study. Our findings could also help (private) sellers of second hand clothing. Here, too, it could be beneficial to present the clothing items on human models instead of on a hanger or lying flat. Possibly, this could help to encourage more people to buy second-hand clothes, which would be desirable for sustainability reasons. Finally, online retailers might consider using webcam eye tracking to test the impact of different modes of product presentation on customers' visual attention. The impact of exogenous factors on visual attention observed in our study is largely consistent with existing literature. Therefore, our study confirms the findings of [PERSON] et al. [8] that webcam eye tracking seems suitable for marketing and usability research that aim to determine where the user's visual attention is drawn, provided the stimulus is of reasonable size and the number of participants is sufficient to compensate for losses due to low eye tracking quotas. Webcam eye tracking could be particularly advantageous when face-to-face contacts are not possible or should be avoided (e.g., in pandemic situations) or in case arranging face-to-face contacts would cause prohibitive costs.