Factors Affecting E-Commerce Site Effectiveness

C. Michael Powell, North Georgia College & State University Christopher Conca, Appalachian State University Gerald U. Skelly, North Georgia College & State University Abstract With the rapid growth of e-commerce, many companies are realizing that past business strategies are no longer as effective as they once were. However, marketing research prior to the advent of e-commerce strongly suggests that consumers are influenced by certain enduring factors. The primary purpose of this research is to survey specific factors that may influence commercial site effectiveness. Subsequently, this work may lead to a sound model for the development and design of e-commerce web sites Moreover, this preliminary work may provide guidance toward development of theoretical foundations for future research. Introduction As e-commerce increasingly affects retail businesses opportunities arise to apply previous research to the formulation of e-marketing strategies. In fact, e-commerce is growing and research indicates that e-commerce on the Web accounts for between five and 8% of the U.S. gross domestic product (Ledbetter 1999). Other forecasts by Forrester Research (1998 predict electronic commerce (EC) sales of $ 3.2 trillion by 2003 Yet, many commercial web sites are failing to produce profits One study indicates that only 42% of commercial web sites in business for at least three years are profitable. Ibis percentage falls even lower to 27% for those established in the past year (Waters, 2000). Without doubt, this rapid increase in EC has created a need for both a practical and a theoretical framework for the investigation of EC web site effectiveness. This research distinguishes between the myriad other types of web sites and those specifically geared toward EC. Indeed, various types of sites exist even within the confines of commercial web sites. For example, many corporate web sites are largely informational in nature; some corporate web sites are intended to provide basic background information about the site owner's company, whereas others are specifically designed to allow customers to place orders. Still other web sites are intended for business-to-business usage. As a matter of fact, some firms' (e.g Amazon.com) entire business is web-based. In this research, we specifically limit our interest to those sites intended to allow customers to place orders from a business entity. Therefore, in this research we analyze a large number of commercial web sites currently extant on the World Wide Web and accessible by competent users of widely available browsers Since the sample approaches a true probability sample, it is likely that some generalization is possible. The extent of that ability to generalize will be the subject of future research. To enhance external validity, each web site was deliberately selected to increase sample heterogeneity. Toward this end, sites from a variety of industries are included in this work.

Literature Review Previous suggests that a number of factors can mean the difference between web site success and failure. For example, one study found that web page backgrounds can influence viewer attitudes (Stevenson, Bruner and Kumar, 2000). Others suggest that page-loading time can be influential in determining site traffic (Weinberg 2000). Surely page complexity can have a significant impact on site traffic as well (Bucer, Lang, Potter and Grabe 1999; O'Leary, 1999). We begin by examining the physical layout of the opening page. Certainly, many studies of human cognitive processes have created a firm foundation for the inclusion of this factor (Jutkins 1998). Prior research strongly suggests that in a visual species such as homo-sapien, response to the presented material is affected by color, orientation, size and information density (McLuhan 1999; Stevenson, Bruner and Kumar 2000). Color is categorized as to intensity, standard color wheel position, order of presentation and use within fonts. Font selection, size and variations are also noted; too much variety in font selection, size, and color can be distracting to users, a potentially serious design flaw sometimes facetiously referred to as the ransom note effect. In a similar fashion, advertising research continues to support the argument that the density of presented information frequently influences reader interest (Moldovan 1984). Therefore, the actual number of words on each opening page was recorded. As visual density does not necessarily reflect the number of words, a rating of the apparent density was also recorded with 0 being no density and 20 a black page. Usage of graphics is described including differentiation between photographic type material and non-photographic artistically generated material Moreover, several studies of attention spans suggest that web site visitors may lose interest and depart the site if they are unable to carry out their original intended task (e.g., product research, ordering) within a reasonable time frame. Hence, the number of screens users must cycle through in order to actually place an order was noted. Where data entry is required, its ease -as assessed. Importantly, the clarity of instructions for use of the site and the availability of on-line help are also noted. Site navigation is rated on a twenty-point scale depending on these factors. Research Methodology For this research, we examined 184 retail e-commerce web sites in various industries (e.g. automobile, retail stores, tires, radios, and wood stoves). Primary concerns included font, color, orientation, and associated visual variables. Additionally, we rated the various sites on a number of usage variables, such as ease of ordering and quality of help. Variables related to color are summarized in the tables below.

Table 1. Primary Text Color Color Frequency Black 6 Blue 101 Gold 10 Green 11 Orange 4 Red 31 Violet 2 White 17 Yellow 2 Table 2. Secondary Text Color Color Frequency Black 36 Blue 32 Gold 21 Green 6 Gray 7 Orange 17 Red 17 Tan 8 Violet 1 White 23 Yellow 16 Color Black Blue Brown Gold Green Gray Red Tan White Yellow

Percent 3.26 54.89 5.43 5.98 2.17 16.85 1.08 9.24 1.09 Percent 19.57 17.39 11.41 3.26 3.80 9.24 9.24 4.35 0.54 12.50 8.70

Table 3. Background Color Frequency Percent 14 7.61 8 4.35 3 1.63 2 1.09 1 0.54 17 9.24 13 7.07 1 0.54 121 65.76 4 2.17

Results A particularly interesting feature of a web site is its color scheme. We analyzed these schemes by classifying three color attributes: primary text, secondary text, and background. These Color attributes were then classified into I I categories. As indicated in the tables above, the majority of e-commerce sites (54.89%) utilized blue primary text colors. Secondary text colors were more varied, with the two most popular being black or blue.

The most common primary/secondary text color combination was blue primary and black secondary, in 25 of 184 sites, or 13.04% (this is consistent, given that 75% of the sites examined had light - white or gray - backgrounds). This combination was followed by a three-way tie (blue primary text with gold secondary text, red primary text with black secondary text, white primary text with blue secondary text), each with 12 sites, or 6.52%. There were I I sites that had blue primary text and red secondary text colors. More interesting is the mixing and matching of colors for contrast, as in foreground and background. Blue text on a white background was the most prevalent combination of colors (81 of 184, or 44.02%). The next most common combination was a tie, red text on gray background and white text on a red background, with 11 (5.98%) each. The most common secondary text and color/background combination was black text on a white background (25, or 13.59%). Blue secondary text on white was also popular (17, or 9.24%). Predominately e-commerce sites had white backgrounds, (121 of 184, or 65.66%) more than all other colors in total, followed a distant second by gray (9.24%). A somewhat surprising finding, since the web page acts as a type of organizational commercial and most commercials are designed to first gain the potential customer's attention. Along those lines, e-commerce sites often use other methods to attract potential customer's attention. The vast majority had graphics (171, or 92.93%), with the bulk of these being of photo quality (156 of 171, or 92.23%). Additionally, 156 (84.78) of the sites included digital photographs. In terms of density of information, the average first page contained 312.5 words with a standard error of 17.34. On the zero to twenty rating scale the average density was 10.41 with a standard error of 0.34. Many sites contained links to other sites. The sites we examined averaged 4.74 links to other sites. Some had none, with one site having 36 links to related sites. Advertisements were very common as well. The sites we examined averaged 4.25 advertisements per site, with a range of 0 to 46. In addition to the visual aspects of the e-commerce sites examined, we looked at design with respect to usability. We examined four usability factors: the number of screens one had to cycle through to place an order, the site's help facilities; the clarity of the presentation (i.e., is the site designed to facilitate an intuitive understanding of how to navigate and order), and data entry case (i.e., placing an order or searching for product/service categories). These results are summarized in Table 4 and discussed below. The number of screens potential customers had to cycle through before they could actually place their order was recorded for each site. On average, people had to go through four screens before they could place their order (minimum was 0 - they could order on the first screen they landed on - with a maximum of 11). This may be a bit high, from a strict usability standpoint; in application systems, the general rule is that users should have to click no more than three times before being able to begin working (Dennis and Wixom 2000). However, we recognize that e-commerce sites

differ from traditional applications, and many factors can influence commercial web site design (e.g., number and variety of products and/or services offered). In fact, evidence suggests that web users are not equivalent to standard computer users (Dennis 1998). Each site was rated on three other usability factors (Data Entry Ease, Layout Clarity, and Help) on a scale of one to 20, with one representing very poor and 20 representing excellent. As can be seen in Table 4, mean Data Entry Ease and Layout Clarity are roughly at the midpoint of the scale, suggesting a neutral rating on these factors. The Help capabilities averaged 4.92, suggesting that help facilities are either poor at best, and in many cases nonexistent. We believe that this is a major drawback, given that the sites were not exceptionally easy to use, judging from their Layout Clarity ratings. Table 4. Usability Variable Descriptive Statistics Item Mean Minimum Maximum Screens to 4.03 0 11 Order Data Entry 10.85 0 20 Ease Layout 10.62 2 20 Clarity Help 5.94 0 15 Conclusions This study seeks to identify the look and feel, as well as the usability, of commercial World Wide Web sites. Specifically limiting evaluation to retail e-commerce sites, those from which users can place orders for products and/or services. Sites examined make extensive use of graphics and photographs, presumably to gain the visitor's attention as well as to highlight products. Overall, it appears that the majority of retail e-commerce sites have a professional look and feel about them, using neutral, light backgrounds (white or gray) and dark text (blue or black). Perhaps this reflects the commercial nature of these sites (as opposed to, say, a government site). This study also highlighted the need for a continued emphasis on web site design, with an eye toward usability features. The results suggest that more work needs to be done to design sites that are intuitive to use. Importantly, help facilities are minimal at best, if they even exist at all on most web sites. Apparently, there is a disconnect between web design and standard application design: whereas most business applications are built today with internal, on-line help systems, few e-commerce sites we found actually contained on-line help. Furthermore, many sites may be overloading the opening page with information. Certainly, a mean word count of 312 seems high.

Taking full advantage of the e-commerce opportunities available will require a much more complete understanding of which EC design characteristics work and why. This study is a step in the direction of not only identifying what works, but understanding why it works. Certainly, prediction is beneficial (i.e., being able to correctly anticipate the success or failure of a particular web site, given its characteristics on the factors listed above). However, the essence of scientific understanding is explanation. It is not sufficient to recognize that an EC site is likely to succeed or fail; we must know why it will likely succeed or fail. References Bucy E.P. Lang A. R.F. Potter and M.E. Grabe. Formal Features of Cyberspace: Relationships between Web Page Complexity and Site Traffic. Journal of the American Society for Information Science 1999; 50:13: 1246-1256. Dennis A.R. Lessons from Three Years of Web Development. Communications of the ACM 1998; 41:7: 112-113. Forrester Research. Worldwide Internet Commerce Will Reach As High As $ 3.2 Trillion in 2003 1998; www.forrester.com. Jutkins R. From 'What?' to 'Wow!' on the Web. Internet Marketing 1998; 52-53. Ledbetter J. The Internet Economy Gets Real. 'Me Industry Standard 1999; 39: 960106. McLuhan Rob. AMV brings colour to Dulux paint range with new TV ads. Marketing London 1999; June 10: 19. Moldovan Stanley E. Copy Factors Related to Persuasions Scores. Journal of Advertising Research 1984; 24(6): 16-22. O'Leary M. Library Spot Shows New Angle on the 'Best of Web' Sites. Database 1999; 22:2: 79-80. Stevenson J. Bruner II B.C. Kumar A. Webpage Background and Viewer Attitudes. Journal of Advertising Research 2000; 40:1/2: 29-34. Waters J. K. Living in a 24X7 World. Software Magazine 2000; 20:1: 53-57. Weinberg B.D. Don't Keep Your Internet Customers Waiting Too Long at the (Virtual) Front Door. Journal of Interactive Marketing 2000; 14:1: 30-39. Wixom. R. Wixom B.H. Systems Analysis and Design. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons, 2000.