Abstract

The goal of the present thesis is to suggest a means of objectively classifying and measuring the design parameters of a website's homepage and then to analyze the effects these parameters have on consumer stickiness and loyalty. In addition, the aim is to compare the objective parameters of a website's homepage and the browsing experiences of consumers between brick and mortar and virtual e-retailers. To date, marketing managers and website designers have had to rely on the trade literature on website design that is replete with checklists and 'how to' guides that lack scientific rigour. The limited academic research relies heavily on the subjective assessments of websites. Two distinct yet complementary studies were conducted. Study 1 uses the guiding principles of the grounded theory approach to develop an objective and systematic way of organizing and measuring the parameters of an e-retailer's homepage. The study identified three key categories of parameters: (1) usability; (2) brand and; (3) atmospheric parameters. Study 2 then uses this categorization in a web browsing field study to examine their relationship with web surfer level outcomes such as stickiness and loyalty. Study 2 identified several significant differences in the measures of stickiness and loyalty depending upon e-retailing strategy employed, existence or absence of prior contact with a website and level of brand knowledge. The findings from Study 2 suggest that some measures of stickiness and loyalty are affected by website level and individual level factors.