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E-Commerce

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Topic: B2C Websites

Word Count: 2,053

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Q1

Q1 (a) Introduction According to Laudon & Traver (2011), the main features of successful B2C website should include the capacity for compelling experience (interactivity, entertainment, human interest), options for editorial content and consumer comments (features on subjects that may be of interest to visitors), fast download times, the presence of easy product list navigation, few clicks to purchase, the presence of recommendation agents/configurators that help the customers to make informed choice (customer choice agents), and options for personal e-mail, as well as for the phone, response (responsiveness) (Laudon & Traver, 2011, p. 514). In this paper, I will deal with the validity of this judgment on the example of certain popular B2C websites, the specific features of which might prove or disprove this classification. Q1 (b) Compelling Experience As it was stated above, compelling evidence refers to the websites ability to offer its customers interesting and informative experience that may make them want to visit the site again. The capacity of the site to turn in the new customers and retain the attention of the old ones is especially important for its promotion (Novak et al, 2000). Therefore it might be necessary to refer to the Amazon.com website to test its compliance with the assumption regarding this aspect of the site popularity. As may be seen from Figure 1, the interactivity of Amazon.com seems to be rather limited, as the Main Page of the site includes only a handful of interactive elements, mainly those connected with Amazons Kindle franchise, as well as the icon of some electronic hardware products and mobile phones traded at Amazon.com (Amazon.com, 2011). In total, the main page of Amazon.com B2C website looks rather spartan, as its layout seems to include merely the most functional elements, with little interactive and entertainment-aimed applications.

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On the contrary, L.L. Bean main page contains a lot of interactive and entertainment elements, with visual elements that accompany different elements of the sites layout. For instance, visual advertisements of Summer Camp Headquarters and Premium Comfort and Craftsmanship combine with respective hyperlinks and create the association of these services with comfort and amicability. This, in turn, may reinforce the sites attractiveness for the potential customer. However, Amazon.com is clearly superior to L.L. Bean from the point of view of numbers of customers. Of course, it is mainly caused by the divergent specializations of the two sites, yet it is indicative of the fact that the use of interactive elements is hardly a defining feature of the B2C website popularity. Having taken this into consideration, it is imperative to look at the other factors listed above. Q1 (c) Editorial Content The editorial content refers to site content that deals with the issues that may arise from the customers inquiries and/or misunderstanding of the websites work. In this case the editorial content features of Ebay.com and GMarket websites will be compared, with a particular emphasis on their divergent character. E-Bay presents a fairly impressive picture of customer service (see Figure 3). All basic kinds of customer issues (such as feedback, buying and selling, etc.) are covered in this area of the site, as the administration of the website tries to maintain continuous contact with the customers. The customer support search engine provides additional options for the customer and allows the personalization of the customer support area. GMarket presents a combined version of editorial content, with different recurring issues grouped into relevant categories, i.e. regarding registration, payment, shipping and cancellation. This style of interface is mostly similar to that of E-Bay, and it seems that both sites generally follow the same assumption as regards customer communication.

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In general, it seems that eBay GMarket model of editorial content is rather efficient, as it combines all relevant issues in one area of the site that is easily accessible by the customers. In addition, the use of graphic icons to point at relevant hyperlinks is helpful, as it presents a direct link between customers visual perception and the site view, and is therefore bound to increase the sites efficiency. Q1 (d) Fast Download Times The fast download time is one of the principal characteristics of the proper B2C website (Ranganathan & Ganapathy, 2002, p. 460). In case of such B2C websites as Amazon.com and eBay, it seems that download times are practically the same, with Amazon.con opening in 2 seconds and eBay in 3 seconds (in Opera 11.00). The development of the B2C sites in future will undoubtedly lead to further increase in operational capabilities and will decrease the download times even more. Q1 (e) Easy Product List Navigation The product navigation of Amazon.com is rather simple (see Figure 5), with various product categories being listed in accordance with their department (i.e. audible audiobooks, books, electronics and computers, etc.), with all categories being divided into relevant subcategories. Such product list organization allows for relatively easy navigation and provides the customers with easy search options. Nevertheless, it is at the same time the simplistic character of Amazon.com navigation list may lead to the confusion among the customers, as there are no additional visual indicators there. The EBay navigation list is generally plagued with the same problem (see Figure 6). This means that in order to increase the positive reaction of the customer, purely textual information should be followed with respective visual elements. Q1 (f) Few Clicks to Purchase

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The process of purchases on Amazon.com is done through clicking on the name of the product and adding it to the customers cart (see Figure 7). The shopping cart serves as the repository of all orders, and the customer may see when these orders are to be delivered. EBay follows the bid system, whereas the purchase of a product is done in the context of evaluation of number of bids presented by different customers (see Figure 8). Although this system presents more options to the customers as they clearly see the sellers reaction to their proposals, it is still problematic, as the use of the bids system complicates general navigation. Q 1(g) Customer Choice Agents and Responsiveness The use of recommendation agents that may give the customers advice on the purchase choice is undoubtedly important part of modern B2C customer service. This may be illustrated on example of such sites as Amazon.com, where the local recommendation agent compares customers product ratings with that of the other customers with similar preferences and generates the optimal product list (Komiak & Benbasat, 2004, p. 431). Such model of interaction with the customer enhances the ability of the latter to find out about the products that he/she might consider relevant in the future. As for the responsiveness of the B2C websites, it might be useful to turn to L.L. Beans example, as the latter is, to my mind, exemplary in this regard. Figure 9 shows the contact information of L.L. Bean, including its phone number and the option for e-mail updates. There are also specific panels for the followers of the site for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (see Figure 10).

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Figure 1. The screenshot of Amazon Main Page. The interface abilites of the site is rather limited, as may be seen from this screenshots view.

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Figure 2. L.L. Bean Main Page capture. Note the contrast with functional style of Amazon.

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Figure 3. E-Bay customer support webpage. Different functions of customer support are covered by relevant hyperlinks.

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Figure 4. GMarket support page. It includes such features as editorial content on registration, ordering, payment, etc.

Figure 5. Amazon.com product categories list.

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Figure 6. EBay product list. Note similarities with Amazon.com.

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Figure 7. The product purchase page. Note Add to Cart panel to the right.

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Figure 8. EBay purchase window, with the information about the bid shown to the right.

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Figure 9. The Amazon.com product page with suggestions for the new products (below).

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Figure 10. L.L. Bean customer response links.

Q. 2. The Key Design Elements of the Successful B2C Website The results of the B2C websites studies (for instance, Laudon & Traver, 2011) seems to indicate that proper design of these websites should take into account the needs and preferences of their customers. The contents of a B2C website should be structured in such way so as to allow the customer to easily and speedily select and purchase the products he/she prefers. Such elements of product data as variety, brand, price and quality should be emphasized in product information to make customer aware of all basic characteristics of his/her product (Ranganathan & Ganapathy, 2002, p. 459). Product samples, hyperlinks to excerpts and/or package demonstrations of the product capacities should be important parts of the product presentation.

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Nevertheless, it is important to avoid the information overload, as this might discourage the customer from the new visits to the site (Keller & Staelin, 1987, pp. 200-213). Easy and comprehensible navigation tools should also be an integral part of a B2C websites design. The efficiency of these navigation tools may be evaluated on the basis of decrease in time spent by the customer in searching for necessary products. The use of customer choice agents (such as that provided by Amazon.com see above) is indispensable from the point of view of the websites efficiency. The results of the studies showed that such agents are invaluable for improving the quality of customers decisions (Haubl & Trifts, 2000). The inclusion of advanced options in the customer search at the website is also important for the improvement of this parameter. The interaction between the customer and the retailer should be the basis of every B2C websites activities. To this end, the elaborate system of customer support, with relevant information data (most likely in FAQ form) is needed. The e-mail services, with customers questions being sent to the sites administrators, should also greatly enhance the speed and quality of customer-retailer communication. The questions of security of the customers transactions are understandably important from the point of view of the B2C websites effective functioning. Many customers may be doubtful as to the quality of the sites security system, displaying reluctance that might hamper their purchasing activity (Direct Marketing, 1998, p. 11). The development of efficient privacy policies is therefore indispensable. Nevertheless, the use of security systems should not inhibit the dynamics of online transactions, as it might then have an effect contrary to the one hoped for. As for interactive content on the B2C website, it may be useful not to overload it with animation and other multimedia features that might slow individual customers downloads. The excessive increase in the size of the Web page may lead to problems with connection and will therefore adversely impact the ability of customers to make their transactions, slowing the work of the site. The increase in waiting times may also negatively bias the judgments of the

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customers with regard to the site (In order to satisfy all categories of customers, it may be useful to create several versions of the site, with text-only, low-bandwidth and high-speed connection pages being offered as an option to the customers. This will greatly customize and individualize the clients experience with the site and increase its popularity with them. To summarise, the B2C websites are crucial part of modern e-commerce structures, and it is imperative that their successful design combine easy interface and search options with highquality performance and low download time. The opinion of the customers as to the site design, however, shall be the most significant factor that must determine its final layout. Therefore it is imperative that the customer feedback be always taken into account.

References

Direct Marketing (1998) Internet shopping study reveals impact of new medium. vol. 61, p. 11. Haubl, G., & Trifts, V. (2000) Consumer decision making in online shopping environment: The effects of interactive decision aids. Marketing. vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 4-21. Keller, K.L., & Staelin, R. (1987) Effects of quality and quantity of information on decision effectiveness. Journal of Consumer Research. vol. 1, pp. 200-213. Laudon, K, & Traver, C.G. (2011) E-commerce. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Novak, T.P., Hoffmann, D.L., & Yung, Y. (2000) Measuring the customer experience in online environments: A structural modelling approach. Marketing Science, vol. 19, no.1, pp. 2242. Ranganathan, C., & Ganapathy, S. (2002) Key dimensions of business-to-consumer websites. Information & Management, vol. 39, pp. 457-465.

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