Experiment on the effectiveness of link structure for convenient cybershopping
Designing an effective link structure for customer interfaces is critical for the success of cybermalls. The link structure comprises various types of links that connect a hypertext page with other pages. Links can be classified as either basic Links based on the structure of the malls or add-on links to provide additional paths. Providing appropriate add-on links is essential for the convenience of navigation in a mall. Zn this study, we focus on the relation between the links and mental model, and maintain that combinations of add-on links according to the mental model of customers will increase the convenience and pleasure of cybershopping. For the study, add-on links were classified into next-to-peer links, up-to-parent links, and up-to-top links, and 8 different versions of experimental malls were constructed according to the combination of 3 add-on links. A total of 174 participants were involved in the experiment, they performed 9 shopping tasks, and were measured in terms of the rate of add-on links recalled and the convenience of navigation. The result of the experiment shows that the rate of recalled links has a significant relation to the convenience of navigation, although the convenience of navigation does not increase linearly with the number of add-on links in a cybermall. To construct the optimal add-on navigation structure, it is essential to construct links that fit customers' mental models.
link structure add-on links mental model next-to-peer (ntp) up-to-parent (utp) up-to-top (utt)