A Synthesis of Research on the Properties of Effective Internet Commerce Web Sites

This study synthesizes 59 studies of properties characterizing successful Internet commerce Web sites, including 51 subjective studies, based on designers' opinions, and eight empirical studies based on Web users' ratings of sites.

Abstract

This study synthesizes 59 studies of properties characterizing successful Internet commerce Web sites. These include 51 subjective studies, based on designers' opinions, and eight empirical studies based on Web users' ratings of sites. Statements about properties from the literature were coded into standard property phrases. A total of 68 standard phrases were found, such as “Simple uncluttered page design.” Standard phrases were organized into 12 property groups containing closely related phrases. A compendium of the property groups and standard phrases is presented. For each phrase, citations are given for the studies mentioning the phrase. The most frequently mentioned property groups include: easy to understand and use, good values of the traditional store, customer services beyond expectations, efficient and fast, an effective home page, products quickly and easily found, a common design which is applied to all pages, and buying products is fast and easy.