User Experience in E-commerce environments

Eirini Darmanin

School of Computer Science

University of Birmingham

Birmingham, United Kingdom

exd331@bham.ac.uk

Abstract — Nowadays, the dramatic use of

Internet has influenced our daily life and the way

that we perform our duties. Commerce has been

widely affected as many people prefer making their

purchases in online stores rather than visiting

traditional markets. However, creating an online

website is not the only thing needed for the success of

e-commerce. A literature review on the main key

factors that are part of online transactions is

presented in this report. We illustrate the aspects of

online customer behavior as he is the one that

determine the success of an e-business. Several

guidelines for the development of a usable and

attractive interface are also discussed based on

studies’ outcomes in the field of HCI. Furthermore,

concepts such as trust, satisfaction and loyalty are

important and vital in online transactions and are

discussed in the latest sections. Finally, further

research topics on the area of e-commerce are

discussed as technological improvements and new

online marketing strategies emerge all the time and

their absorption is essential for its survival.

Keywords—e-commerce; online consumer

behavior; e-trust; e-satisfaction; e-loyalty; website

usability

I. INTRODUCTION

Over the past 30 years, Internet has changed our lives and the way that we perform almost all of our daily tasks. This revolution could not leave impervious the way that we buy and sell goods and services. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce as it is used to be called, is defined as the process of buying and selling products and services through electronic systems such as the Internet [12]. The first online shopping system was introduced by Michael Andrich on 1979 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce]. This signaled the starting point for a

breakthrough in the way that transactions between buyers and sellers are accomplished. As it was expected, the way that e-commerce works has changed over the years as the competition between different businesses along with the requirements of the customers has increased. In the early years of its appearance, businesses assumed that the only thing they had to do was to create a website and then customers will find them and will start making their transactions. However, nowadays customers have become very demanding and have enhanced their knowledge on how e-commerce works, which are their alternatives and how they can “obligate” a website to be customized based on their needs rather than the opposite.

E-commerce can be divided in three different types based on the way that business activities are performed: (1) Business to Business, (2) Business to Consumer and (3) Consumer to Consumer [12]. In our report we are going to focus mainly on Business to Consumer e-commerce, highlight the important issues in the design and present the challenges that are faced both by businesses and by customers during their navigation in these websites. Even if many studies have been conducted in the field of e-commerce and several improvements were suggested for the way that websites are designed, there are many usability errors that are still committed and impede user navigation [21]. Small or hidden product descriptions, confused customer service, poor navigability, inability of transaction completion are some of the most common weaknesses [22].

Apart from the usability, the design and the analysis of user behavior in online shopping, we are going to discuss e-satisfaction, e-trust and e-loyalty. The relationship between these three factors plays a

vital role in the evolution and survival of an e-business [28]. Trust is necessary for online transactions because customers should feel safe in order to reveal personal and financial information in e-commerce websites [28, 21]. However, trust has received little attention and this is the reason that many times customers are not willing to proceed with a purchase [21]. Customers that feel secure and satisfied from a website tend to be more loyal too [28]. In the last section of our report, we present how an e-commerce website can create long term relations with its customers and how this relationship can be developed for the benefit of both parts, the buyer and the seller.

II. ONLINE CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Online consumer behavior is an emerging research area as the success and the survival of an online market is strongly related with it. It is notable how many studies have been conducted in this scope and the high point was on 2001 that more than 120 relevant papers were published [Cheung et al., 2003 as cited in 9]. Online buyer’s experience is much more complex than in traditional markets. Customer’s total impression is not influenced only by the product and its quality but also from criteria like website design, search and transaction process [9].

Constantinides [9] classifies the factors that affect online consumer, in two main categories: the uncontrollable (consumer characteristics and environmental factors) and controllable factors (characteristics of product/service, merchant/intermediary characteristics, e-commerce system). Similarly, Maurizio [20] presented the five basic factors of the Consumer Behavior Model using the same characteristics (Fig. 1).

Consumer characteristics have many aspects, such as demographic factors (age, gender, and education), individual’s preferences and behavior. The buyer’s feelings the moment that he visits a website are very important. Studies have shown that a happy user is more willing to assess a product positively and make a purchase in comparison with a customer with bad mood [4]. In this context, a well designed website can make the user escape the everyday life and worries by offering him an entertaining experience which will affect his mood.

The aesthetics and visuals of the site can influence the visitor to interact with it and explore it [9]. Isen [2000, as cited in 4] argues that people with a positive mood are also more

a.

Fig. 1. Consumer Behavior Model [20]

willing to make decisions and take risks which can be proved very profitable in the case of e-commerce websites.

Environmental factors can affect customer’s perception about a product both in online and in traditional markets. It is very common for people to exchange opinions about their experiences in many areas and even more in areas that are not very familiarized with and are difficult to trust. The word of mouth is widely used in e-commerce environments as the sense of trust is not easily build due to the lack of personal contact with the seller [34]. Consequently, both peer and social influence can be very effective in the decision making process [8]. Additional environmental factors can be the culture background, social networks opinions and current “trends” [20].

Merchants and Intermediary Characteristics are strongly related to the marketing strategies of the online retailer [20]. Reputation and trust are two crucial factors that contribute to the resonance that the website has on the buyer.

Product/ Service Characteristics are totally dependant on the vendor. Pricing, product quality, product presentation, online customer service and promotions are some of the characteristics that make the customer feel that the vendor wants to satisfy him [20].

E-commerce system is the storefront of the virtual shop. When the user first visits a website, probably

he does not know anything about the shop and its products. Nielsen [22] argues that “it is safe to assume that by the time users arrive at your site, they have probably already shopped elsewhere”. This requires a well designed e-commerce system, attractive, interactive, easy to use, informative, effective and secure [20].

Cheung et al. [8] suggested another framework for online consumer behavior which principles are Intention, Adoption and Continuance and the five factors described above are integrated into it. Intention is related to the initial desire of the user to buy something and can be influenced by customer’s attitude; website’s ease of use and perceived quality [8]. Adoption refers to the process of the purchase and Continuance refers to the repurchasing behavior of the customer [8]. Continuance can be affected by customer’s satisfaction, loyalty incentives and trust towards the virtual shop.

Understanding the factors that influence buyer’s behavior and decision making is very crucial and is the main objective of e-merchants. A combination of design, usability, psychological and marketing principles is required in order not only to assure a pleasant online shopping experience but also to build a loyal relation with the customer.

III. WEB USABILITY AND INTERFACE DESIGN FOR

E-COMMERCE

A. Web Usability

Web usability can be classified in two categories in terms of an e-commerce website: pre-use usability which refers to the ability of the user to navigate a website and his perception concerning the design attributes and user performance usability which refers to the ability of the user to accomplish a specific task with the minimum effort [16]. Navigation and search are two of the main points that contribute to the usability of a website.

The term of navigation is used to describe the activity of “browsing” in a web page [21]. According to Goddard et al. [15], “effective navigation is 80% of usability”. Users are looking around in a website just to see what it has to offer, to get familiarized with the environment. They can follow any path without having a specific objective or without searching for a specific product. The

challenge at this stage is that the user may get confused or not know how to surf and lose his direction. In order to face this problem, several attributes like Home Page Button, Breadcrumbs (paths that show exactly the location of the user) are used in interfaces. Kim [1999, as cited in 21] found that people using spatial navigational aid buttons (such as “up”, “down”, “neighborhood” buttons) navigated the website easier and had a greater satisfaction than those with non-spatial navigational aid (such as text-based aid). Furthermore, the navigation through the menu bar is much easier if it is consisted of one row rather than two or more because the effort required from the user to absorb the available options and understand where to go is less in the former case than in the latter [15].

Search behavior is a “goal directed information seeking behavior” [21]. A customer may want to find a specific product, or a specific type of product. The important point and the main challenge about search process is that if the customer will not find what he is looking for, he will assume that the website does not have it and will search somewhere else [22]. Based on Nielsen’s studies [22], 64% of search attempts are frustrated. Customer’s search skills are not well developed so they prefer searching elsewhere as they know that they have a plethora of options [22]. User Experience designers suggest a good search engine as the one that allows users to search by keywords and then present the results classified by the website’s categories. The option of sorting the results by standard criteria (such as price, most popular or new products) will satisfy the user and will save him from extra effort [7].

B. Interface Design

Browser and search design are very important factors of web usability that have to be taken into consideration at the development of any website (e-commerce or not).However, there are many usability and interface design issues that refer mainly to an e-commerce website. Nielsen [22] described in his report the main mistakes that are usually met in e-commerce interfaces. In conjunction with the studies of other researchers [21, 16], some of the most common mistakes are: poor customer service options, non-standard link colors, hiding contact information, small product images, inadequate

search engine, poor shopping card design, confusing checkout process. To address these design challenges, and any other that may occur, it is effective to understand the process that the customer follows until he completes the transaction. We could distinguish the following steps: 1) navigate and search for products, 2) select a product (read the description, see the images, make comparison with similar products), 3) add it to the shopping basket, 4) go to the checkout process and complete the transaction [21]. Using the suggestions of several researchers, both from the HCI and Marketing field, improvements for each stage are discussed below.

(1) Navigation and search are they key factors for the attraction of customer’s interest. Shoppers today have many options [15] and they are looking for those websites that will provide them the more effortless and pleasure experience. It is worth mentioning that, as almost all customers have previous experience with e-commerce websites, placing key web objects where they would be expected by customers it is an important factor for the effectiveness of the web page [3]. For instance, Bernard survey [3] indicated that the majority of online shoppers (approximately 75%) expect that the search engine would be at the top-center or top-left of the screen.

(2) Selection of a product is the focal point of the online shopping process. The presentation of the product, the description provided and the additional options should cover the expectations of the customer. The lack of tactile experience enhances the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Nielsen [23] point out that in usability testing, users tend to gather product details from the image. Additionally, Manvi and Venkataram [17] argue that approximately 98% of the users believe that a multimedia presentation of the product increase the shopper’s confidence towards a specific product. Product information is also essential along with the images. The customer should feel that he has all the information he needs in order to make his decision [17]. Hidden or insufficient product description will discourage the potential customer from completing this

transaction. Reviews from previous buyers or comparison with similar products are some attributes that will enrich the information experience and the credibility of the website [21, 23].

Eye-tracking deals with the eye movement of the customer when he navigates to a website. Outcomes of eye-tracking reports can be very useful during the design process. For instance, the way that people are used in images can affect the focus of the observer [26]. Specifically, if the person looks at the observer then it is very likely that the observer will look back at him. However, if he looks at the product, then the observer will focus on the product too. Similar examples are that media (such as videos or pictures) on a web page attract the gaze of the observer more that the text and the same do handwritten notes [26]. Finally, another important tip is that the average user spends 69% of his time in a website, looking at the left side of the web page [26]. This can motivates designers to put important elements on the left side to attract customer’s interest.

(3) Next step is to add the product to the shopping cart. When the customers accomplish this task, it should be clear to them that it was successful. At first, it is important for the customer to find quickly where the shopping basket is placed. Bernard [3] argues, according to the result of his experiment, that most of the customers expect that shopping cart is located at the top-right of the screen. Furthermore, Nielsen’s report [23] about e-commerce UX, pointed out that many websites do not give the appropriate feedback for this action. He highlights that the customer should be notified immediately for his action with a clear message and not just with the increment of the number of products in the shopping cart. In the case that the buyer tries to figure out if the selected product was added to his cart, he may get annoyed and abandon the shopping process [23].

(4) If the customer reaches this last stage, it means that he is almost sure about his choice and his willingness to complete the transaction. However, many studies have

shown that it is common to abandon the purchase at the finish line [14]. What are the main reasons for this phenomenon? Statistics published on 2012 [5] revealed that the main reason for last minute abandonment is shipping cost. The most important points that could encourage users to proceed with their shopping are free shipping option and guaranteed day of delivery [5]. Furthermore, checkout usability report on 2012 pointed out that when customers are asked to provide more personal information than those that are necessary, feel suspicious and give it a second thought [14]. To face this challenge, businesses should explain in detail why they need the seemingly unnecessary information and make these fields optional.

Last but not least, customer service should not be neglected. Many websites provide a perfect designed and usable interface but fail to adapt the customer service section [23]. This may make the customer doubt about the accuracy of the web page and its services. Some of the suggested actions that could be done in order to create a friendly and dignified online customer service are: provide phone numbers of the company, have a F.A.Q. section, provide live chat support for additional information and perform follow-up surveys.

C. Use Cases

Considering the suggestions and guidelines above, a couple of case studies are presented below that aim to give some examples of e-commerce websites and report their weaknesses and strengths, based on recent research of Nielsen and his group [23] and Goddard et al. [15].

Fig. 2 compares the design of two different websites. On the left we can see a good organized website with clear and lifelike pictures. On the right, we see a website that provides a lot of information, related or not to the displayed product which confuses the observer and do not help him focus on the product that he selected. [15].

Fig. 2. Websites with similar content but different presentation

Fig.3 highlights a common mistake that has to do with the description of products. The important part is the tiny box which includes the product information. If the user wants to see more information, he needs to enlarge the box and scroll down to see the rest of the text [23].

Fig. 3. Hidden product description which requires additional

effort to find it

IV. E-SATISFACTION

The development of an impressive and easy to use website reinforces the e-satisfaction of the user. Rust and Oliver [1994, as cited in 6] define customer satisfaction as the “degree to which a customer believes that the possession or use of a service evokes positive feelings”. Satisfaction can be distinguished in two types: transaction specific when it derives from the successful performance of a specific task or cumulative when it depends on the outcomes of repeated transactions [6].

Having satisfied customers that are willing to return is the key for the success of every business that is developed in the online environment. Providing an easy to use interface, an option to select between different languages, a search activity that helps the customer to find what he needs are some of the components that will satisfy the user and will help him achieve his goal with the

minimum effort [28, 11]. The quality of products/services provided, their features, their design, their value are also determinant factors for the gratification of the customer [6, 11, 32]. The lack of physical contact with the product makes the buyer feel uncertain about its quality. The provision of detailed description, large images and multiple views can make him feel more confident about his choice [11]. Furthermore, e-satisfaction is also related with the fulfillment of the obligations of the retailer towards the buyer [28, 35]. Customers feel more pleasant to return to a website if their previous experience there was successful; otherwise their displeasure will prevent not only them from future purchasing but also other potential buyers [32].

Safa et al. [28] classified the factors that influence e-satisfaction in three categories: technological, organizational and customer. Technological factors could be the system and information quality, the speed and ease of the payment process, the ability of the customer to buy things 24/7. Organizational factors have to do with fast response to customer questions and the variety of products provided. The third category has to do mainly with the usability of the website and the options that it gives to its customers. Their research has shown that technological factors have the greater effect on the levels of e-satisfaction in comparison with the other two types [28]. Cristobal et al. [10] and Chang et al. [6] run experiments to see if the perceived quality of the services provided by a website affect the user satisfaction. They gathered the data either by interviewing or by giving questionnaires to people that had visited and had bought at least one service or product from a website the last three months. Their results were similar and indicated that the effect of perceived service quality on satisfaction was positively significant [10, 6].

According to studies of many researchers that deal with the loyalty of a customer in traditional and online environments, satisfaction has been proved as one of the necessary steps that should be achieved [35]. Several scales that measure the level of satisfaction provided by a website and its services have been discussed and defined in order for businesses to follow them and provide a good and joyful online experience to their customers. For instance, E-SQ or E-SERVQUAL scale has been introduced by Parasuraman et al. [25] and analyzed

by many other researchers that either added more dimensions or restricted it to the key factors [10]. This scale measures the effectiveness that a website offers for its purchasing process using 11 dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, access, flexibility, ease of navigation, efficiency, assurance/trust, security/privacy, price knowledge, site aesthetics and customization/personalization [10, 25]. Additionally, Yoo and Donthu [2001, as cited in 10] have developed SITEQUAL scale which measures the quality of a website through 4 dimensions: ease of use, aesthetic design, processing speed and security.

V. E-TRUST

“Price does not rule the Web, trust does” [27]. The importance of trust in online transactions is summarized in the previous sentence. Trust can be defined as the perception that the seller will not deceive the customer in order to gain more money [28]. Flavia´n and Guinalý´u [2006, as cited in 11] demonstrated that trust in virtual environments is strongly related with how confident the customers feel about the disclosure of their personal data. Due to the absence of face to face contact with the seller and physical contact with the product, people rely only on images and promises that the vendor is trustworthy [18, 27]. This means that trust is necessary for the customer to share personal and financial information in a virtual environment [21]. Hence, a key question is how an e-commerce website can inspire buyer’s trust [21]?

Hoffman et al. [1999, as cited in 21] revealed through their study that almost 63% of online customers do not share their personal information due to lack of trust and 69% refuse to provide such information because there is not sufficient information on how their data will be used. The level of security that a website has can definitely influence customer’s attitude towards it and his willingness to make a purchase.

Several studies have been conducted in terms of online trust and how it can be achieved. Various disciplines such as marketing, psychology, sociology, and economics have been combined to design principle and guidelines [21]. Trust can be categorized in two main types: cognition-based and affect-based. Cognition-based trust depends on the

initial contact and experience of the buyer with the online store [24]. The first impression is very crucial for the continuance of a relationship either personal or business. Affect-based trust is influenced by how online relationships will be evolved during time [24]. Similarly, four principles to build trustworthiness through design were suggested by Nielsen [22]: (1) design quality; (2) up-front disclosure; (3) comprehensive, correct and current products and content; and (4) connectivity to the rest of the Web.

Some useful principles and guidelines were presented also by Nah and Davis [21] having as key factors the Content, the Design and the External Certifications and References (Fig. 4). Content related principles help the customer have a clear view of what is going on in the website. Providing information about the company, its mission and reports of past years’ performance makes the customer feel safer. Additionally, in previous sections we mentioned that people feel cautious sharing their personal details. For this reason, companies

Fig. 4. Guidelines for online trust [20]

should explain in details which, why and how they are going to use personal data in order to make them feel secure [14]. In the same context, detailed information should be provided for additional charges like shipping costs, delivery date and return policies. Online user experience is mainly an informative experience so, the more information provided to the customer the better for the ease of his decision making process [22].

Design guidelines are more related with the functionality of the website. Security is another

concern of online shoppers. Eid [11] has shown that the perception of security and privacy risk influences significantly customer trust. The ninth suggestion about personalization (Fig. 4) is strongly related to the satisfaction and the loyalty of the customer as by understanding and predicting his needs, shopping experience is facilitated and he also feels unique [21].

External Certifications and References refer to how third parties perceive the services provided by an online market [21]. Third parties can be services, such as TRUSTe (www.truste.com) that assure the credibility of a website [29]. If the buyer notices that there is no certification or connectivity with another party at the Web, then he may think that the site “has something to hide” and consequently he will doubt about its trustworthiness [21]. Reputation or feedback systems are a key factor of consumer trust. They are responsible to collect feedback from previous buyers of the website [21] and present it to their web pages in order to help potential consumers in making decisions. The success of these systems lies on the psychology of the customer because he feels more confident to be influenced by other’s experiences rather than by the information provided by the website. However, the reliability of these systems may sometimes be disputed if, for instance, the sellers provide positive feedback for themselves in order to increase their popularity.

Examples of e-commerce websites that have managed to establish a trustworthy website and to overcome the natural customer fear of online transactions are Amazon.com, Vanguard Group and EBay [20]. Amazon.com has successfully persuaded millions of customers to share their personal information to its system because they know that the key for success is trust [27]. Similarly, the team of Vanguard Group knows very well that customers need to feel secure and supported. Jack Brennan (former CEO of Vanguard Group) said [as cited in 27]: “We designed our Web site to educate our customers and provide better and more timely information and advice so they can make better decisions”. Finally, EBay increased consumer’s trust and loyalty by taking a big business risk. It insures the first $200 of each transaction in a frozen account until the buyer is satisfied with the services provided [18, 27]. This action did credit to EBay if one thinks

that the half of its customers is acquired by word of mouth [18].

VI. E-LOYALTY

E-loyalty can be defined as customer’s positive attitude towards an online merchant that results in repeated buying behavior [31]. Reichheld et al. [27, p.106] advocated that “without the glue of loyalty, even the best-designed e-business model will collapse”. In previous sections we described the importance of creating a well-designed and usable website, offering a joyful experience to the customer and having service and product quality. However, all these factors cannot be profitable for the business unless there is a loyal relationship with its customers. Acquiring one time shoppers is enormously expensive in comparison with serving loyal customers during the years [35, 27]. The study conducted by Bain & Company [2] revealed that the average online shopper can be profitable for the retailer after the fourth time that he will shop from the website. In the same context, a survey published in 2000 [18] indicated that the retailer spends about $50 for each new customer and this amount can be regained in three years. These numbers clearly indicate that a high customer number cannot guarantee big earnings if there is no loyalty with them [18]. This profit from loyalty is acquired because long term consumers make supplier’s website part of their daily routine [27]. Consequently, every time they need to purchase something, they visit the website without thinking it or searching for alternatives. Studies reveal that shoppers spend 67% more during the third year of their shopping relationship [2].

Apart from purchase profits, loyalty is the better way to advertise an e-commerce website and attract more customers. Online loyal customers that are satisfied with a retailer spread the word and refer new customers to the website [27, 2]. On average, a loyal shopper after 10 purchases, invites about 7 people to the online shop [2]. EBay is a real example to understand the importance of referrals from loyal consumers. Meg Whitman (former CEO of EBay, 2000) said: “We are being driven by word of mouth. More than half of our customers are referrals”.

The high level of profit that can be achieved highlights the importance of loyalty on the Internet

which sometimes may be greater than in traditional markets [27]. The question here is: which are the key factors on building online customer loyalty and what can a company do in order to differentiate from others?

A. 4 Key Areas

Online shopper’s incentives for returning to an e-commerce website can be classified in four areas based on their requirements: (1) order fulfillment and dependability; (2) fair pricing; (3) customer service; (4) website functionality [2]. The combination of these factors contributes to the satisfaction of the consumer which is significantly correlated with the e-loyalty [28, 1, 6]. Chang et al. [6, p.428] argue that the “ability to keep a customer is related to the intensity of customer satisfaction”.

B. Engagement and Rewards

Shoppers are more willing to return to a website if they have incentives. Rewards and discounts act encouragingly to customer’s attitude towards an online shop. For example, Dropbox offers extra space to its customers for every user they refer to it. Correspondingly, an e-commerce website could offer coupons and discounts as a reward to his profitable customers. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are used both in traditional and online markets to categorize customers based on their needs and preferences [35]. These systems provide a very effective way to make personalized offers and increase the satisfaction of the customer. Marketers use CRM to identify profitable customers, follow their actions, manage their information and trying to expand their inter-relationship [35]. Another type of reward could be to give a time advantage to long term customers in case of the release of a new product for instance. Informing them 1-2 days before the release of a new product catalogue or a sales period, makes them feel that retailers really care to satisfy them. One-to-one management strategies have always been proved very effective and profitable for businesses [6].

C. Recommendation systems and Personalization

Strategies

Recommender systems have been introduced to help online customers shopping [29]. Nowadays, almost every online shop has a system that enriches the shopping experience by providing a big variety of products to the buyer and helps him make the better choice. Those systems make recommendations by taking as input the shopping history of the customer and predicting his future purchases [29]. Recommendations can be displayed in different forms according to Schafer et al. [29]: suggestion of products, personalized product information, opinions and critiques from previous buyers.

Several studies have been conducted towards personalization in e-commerce based on behavior [29]. CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos [as cited in 29] had declared that “if I have 3 million customers on the Web, I should have 3 million stores on the Web”. Retailers can monitor and collect data related to the consumer’s behavior. This process is called data mining and one of its more popular uses is for the relationship between products. For instance, if the buyer has selected to buy a laptop, the system can automatically recommend to him to buy also a laptop case or a laptop fan or a mouse. This saves times of the user to think and then to find what else he can buy with his laptop. A more personalized option of this could be to suggest products according to the purchase history of the buyer. For instance, if buyer’s records show that he has bought a television the previous week, then a DVD player can be a good recommendation to him. Another option could be to present what other buyers of the selected product have bought. In this situation, two goals are achieved. The one is the targeted recommendation and the other is that

Fig. 5. An example of personalization combined with targeted

recommendation [30]

this product was also bought by another buyer. Consequently, the customer feels more positive towards this product as it is indirectly suggested by another customer.

Data mining in e-commerce has been evolved during the years. Recommendation of products based on previous selections is nowadays a vital factor for these websites. New approaches are related to the close monitoring of the whole customer’s navigation in the website. Keywords from the search process, abandonment of a specific webpage, mouse flow, time consuming in each page are some of the techniques used in our days to capture online consumer’s behavior. For instance, if a customer leaves a website when the price screen appears, then it is easy to understand that he may be price-sensitive and he would be more willing to buy something with a discount [27]. Furthermore, by search keywords, merchants can understand what the customer is looking for and store this information for future suggestions [29]. Figure 5 displays a great example of how an e-commerce website “remembers” the previous search of its customer and makes a targeted recommendation.

D. Social Media

Social Media allow users to present themselves and share personal information to the public. Some of this information can be effectively used to improve user’s experiences in their virtual life [13]. Personality traits can be easily predicted through social media by using data mining tools and machine learning systems. E-commerce is one of the fields that can be profited by this feature. There are 2 main directions of how a social network can be used in terms of e-loyalty:

Keep daily contact with customers: almost every person that uses Internet has a social profile in a social network. Taking advantage of this, e-commerce websites can build a new type of relationship with their customer. During the day, it is more likely that a customer will visit his social profile than a website or even his emails. Having access to social media leads to having access in the daily life of customers. This opportunity can be utilized by presenting business discounts and coupons in order to retain customer’s attention [19]. Additionally, rewards for customers that “invite” friends to join business’s profile could be offered.

However, this social communication with customers has its own challenges [19]. First of all, the content should be always up to date. Offers that are not active any more may create wrong impressions to users. Another important aspect is the frequency of posts and notifications. It is important to have in mind that social media push notifications to smart phones. If a commercial profile annoys the user by frequent notifications during the day, it will become a nuisance even if the messages are in his interest. A discreet, informative and joyful presence to the daily life of the customer leads to a successful relationship with him.

Personal details & customer’s behavior: self-description, status updates, liked pages, interests are social media sections that reveal a lot about user’s personality and his network [13]. Recommendation systems can benefit from this information and use them to optimize the personalization process. Another important research area is the prediction of future behavior of the user which has implications in many areas including this of e-commerce [13].

Golbeck et al. [13] describe in their report a method about how user’s personality can be predicted by his personal information available in social media. In their experiment, they aimed to predict user’s Big Five personality traits (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism) [13]. They

run two machine learning algorithms on the data retrieved by user’s profile and they managed to predict the personality traits to the 11% of their actual value [13]. With further research and experiments on this type of prediction, personalizing information and interfaces will create great marketing opportunities. A similar study was conducted by Yang and Li [33] who did research on how to identify user’s needs through social media. They achieved this by running psychometric measures and building several models to predict fundamental needs through the user’s writings [33].

It seems that loyalty cannot be achieved only with technological improvements [27]. Loyalty rules are applied and are always up to date even if the target is a traditional market or an online one. Trust and satisfaction are the main contributors to its attainment. Web however, opens new opportunities for understanding the customer because everything that he does in an online store can have a meaning and can reveal something about his personality in comparison with his walk into a store that does not leave any impression behind [18].

VII. FUTURE WORK & DISCUSSION

The research on the design of an e-commerce website that will satisfy and engage the customer will never stop as new technologies are being developed which require the immediate adaptation of everyone in order to survive in this arena. More research and empirical studies are needed in all the e-commerce fields described.

A very promising area is the exploration of human behavior. Social media give an opportunity to investigate personal trait in depth. The study of Yang and Li [33] on the identification of user needs through his social profile could be the starting point. For instance, the field of study of a person could be an indicator of his future job. Consequently, a model of long term predictions and recommendations could be developed and applied. Additionally, human behavior can affect technological decisions. The monitoring of customer’s behavior when he navigates in a website could serve as future indication for software upgrade [27]. The literature has provided an extent understanding of the whole

idea of website design. Although the monitoring of the actual behavior of the customer through usability tests, could enhance the convenience of provided services. Personalization is another area that can be improved. It is remarkable that approximately 74% of customers get annoyed if websites present offers that are irrelevant to their interests [30]. A noteworthy improvement would be if, for instance, a visitor comes to a website from a search engine using the keyword "health" and a personalized version of the page based on his interest is displayed.

Mobile commerce (or m-commerce as it is usually called) is another area that needs further investigation. In our days, everyone is using his mobile phone for more than his traditional functionalities (calls and messages). The adjustment of e-commerce websites to fit mobile specifications is a whole new area which needs new interaction methods. The importance of m-commerce is noticeable if someone thinks that people will make more purchases if they have a variety of ways to do it. Mobiles, tablets, “fablets” are part of many people’s daily life and their utilization would be very profitable in terms of e-commerce.

Last but not least, reputation systems and their implementation is a big issue that needs further research. What methods could be used to assess the trustworthiness of reviewers, how the feedback could be effectively presented and how does this affect consumer behavior, are some of the issues that emerge in this area and their solving can improve their effectiveness [21].

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

Web-based technology has been evolved during the last years and this could not leave untouched the transactions between buyers and sellers. Hence, human-computer interaction constitutes a wide research area in the field of e-commerce [21].

In this report, we discussed the main points that influence the design and the success of a commercial website. First, we examined the behavior of the online customer which is different from the equivalent in traditional markets as it can be influenced by many different factors. We found that the main factors that can affect his purchase decision are: his personal traits, the environmental and the

product characteristics, the attitude of the merchant towards him and the functionality of the e-commerce system. Next, suggestions for the development of a usable and attractive website were presented, based on the results of several studies. Studies and reports on the fields of Human Computer Interaction, Marketing and Psychology were combined in order to make accurate suggestions both from the consumer and the technological aspect. Following customer’s steps when he navigates in a website, helped us divide the purchase process in 4 different levels and make targeted suggestions.

Having a user friendly website that follows faithfully all the design guidelines is not enough for an e-commerce website. The old rules of satisfy, earn trust and create loyal ties with customers are as vital as ever. The lack of personal contact makes it more difficult for consumers to trust a business and perform any transaction with it. The basic laws of marketing should be applied on web markets more than on traditional. It may be more difficult to build e-loyal relations but on the other hand, the web offers many new opportunities that can facilitate it. Social media, buyer’s history, monitoring of user’s navigation can be used in order to create personalized systems and enhance the services provided to consumers.

Technological novelties are the characteristic of our era and the survival of a business is strongly related to his success on humanize its online services and provide the customer with the safety and the singularity that he needs.

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