An impediment to Web-based retail sales is the impersonal nature of Web-based shopping. A solution to this problem is to use an avatar to deliver product information. An avatar is a graphic representation that can be animated by means of computer technology. Study 1 shows that using an avatar sales agent leads to more satisfaction with the retailer, a more positive attitude toward the product, and a greater purchase intention. Study 2 shows that an attractive avatar is a more effective sales agent at moderate levels of product involvement, but an expert avatar is a more effective sales agent at high levels of product involvement.

An impediment to Web-based retail sales is the impersonal nature of Web-based shopping. A solution to this problem is to use an avatar to deliver product information. An avatar is a graphic representation that can be animated by means of computer technology. Study 1 shows that using an avatar sales agent leads to more satisfaction with the retailer, a more positive attitude toward the product, and a greater purchase intention. Study 2 shows that an attractive avatar is a more effective sales agent at moderate levels of product involvement, but an expert avatar is a more effective sales agent at high levels of product involvement.Martin Holzwarth is a consultant at Marketing Partner, MP Management

Purpose -This research sets about discovering if it is possible to identify distinct, practice-relevant and addressable clusters by means of selected criteria for constructing typologies -such as psychographic, culturally-specific and purchasing behaviour-relevant features -which permit an online supplier to efficiently and effectively focus on attractive consumer segments. Design/methodology/approach -To answer the research question, the study conducted an online survey with 1,011 participants. The respondents were from three countries, each with culturally-distinct features: France, Germany and the US. Underpinning the research are theoretically-secured constructs of purchasing behaviour on the internet. Findings -Cluster analysis confirmed the outstanding validity of a three-cluster-solution (97.7 per cent score) -risk-averse doubters, open-minded online shoppers, and reserved information-seekers. Discriminant analysis shows that certain constructs, particularly "neuroticism", "willingness to buy" and "shopping pleasure", separate the clusters best. Research limitations/implications -An extension of our clustering approach to more countries and especially non-western cultures promises interesting results. Furthermore, researchers are encouraged to enlarge the catalogue of clustering variables to allow an even more specific fine-tuning of the main clusters identified in this research. Practical implications -The classification created provides the potential for a much closer fit between a company's goods and services and heterogeneous customer needs. Originality/value -The principal contribution of the paper is the identification of three different clusters of internet users. This can be of good use for shaping internet marketing, particularly by virtue of the likely stability over time from cultural and personality characteristics.

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Brand managers strive to achieve an outstanding position in the psyche of the user by differentiating the product and service. In order to do so, brands are now often promoted by communications that focus on a trivial attribute difference. The current study tests both how the use of such an irrelevant attribute affects the perceptions of the consumer and how they rate the brand when the irrelevance of the attribute is previously revealed. The results of a controlled experiment (n ‫؍‬ 894) show that the use of irrelevant attributes generally has a positive effect on buying behavior and that this effect is obtained even when the actual irrelevance is previously proven to the consumer. Further, the results are consistent across a variety of outcome variables, including attention, perceived uniqueness, price fairness, attitude toward the brand, and intention to buy the brand.