A Study of the Impact of Dress Model Technology on Intention to Buy on Evolving e-CRM European Union Web Sites

Abstract

This study analyzes design factors that contribute to the intention of goal-focused consumers to buy apparel on European Web sites that have dress model technology. Factors from academic literature of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, media richness of technology, decision satisfaction, and behavioral intention to return are especially examined in the study. The results confirm earlier exploratory studies by the authors in 2007 and 2006 positing media richness of dress model technology as less important in intention to buy than the other factors and begin to indicate that the technology is not important in facilitating electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM) on the Web. The study was conducted as an experiment with adult goalfocused students of a leading Belgian business university as proxy shoppers of the Web sites. The results of this study will benefit both European and American e-Business designers and managers considering direction and further investment in multimedia technologies on apparel Web sites.