The Impact of Perceived Visual Complexity of Mobile Online Shops on User's Satisfaction

Abstract

The use of Internet‐enabled mobile devices (i.e., smartphones and tablets) for shopping purposes has gained in relevance among consumers. As mobile technologies become increasingly powerful, richer modes of presentation (e.g., videos and animated pictures) are used to design mobile online shops resulting in increased visual complexity. Given the importance of fluent mobile web site processing during typically short interactive sessions and the need to bridge a gap in prior research, this article explores the effects of perceived visual complexity on consumers’ perceptions and behavior‐related intentions when using mobile online shops. The findings from two empirical studies (i.e., an online survey and an experimental study) conducted among mobile device‐using online shoppers illustrate that perceived visual complexity negatively influences individuals’ satisfaction with their mobile shopping experience, whereas their channel‐specific satisfaction enhances their loyalty to the online retailer. Customers’ perceived psychological costs (i.e., time and effort costs as well as spatial crowding perceptions) partially mediate the relationship between visual complexity perceptions and satisfaction. As the results of the laboratory experiment show, the mediating role of perceived spatial crowding in the relationship between perceived visual complexity and satisfaction depends on the mobile device individuals use to visit an online shop. Hence, this relationship is mediated by perceptions of spatial crowding only when online shop visitors use a smartphone rather than a tablet.

Pemanfaatan M-Retailing dengan Dukungan Layanan Cash on Delivery pada Swalayan

“…Penggunaan teknologi mobile dalam retail adalah merupakan cara yang dapat dipergunakan bagi pemilik usaha untuk menarik perhatian konsumen agar dapat terlibat di dalam toko [5]. Bentuk keterlibatan konsumen yang memiliki pengaruh terhadap pertumbuhan bisnis adalah penggunaan perangkat mobile yang didukung oleh koneksi internet untuk melakukan kegiatan belanja [6]. Pemakaian teknologi mobile sangat efektif dalam kegiatan berbelanja karena dengan teknologi ini dapat memberikan kemudahan dalam pencarian, kenyamanan pasca pembelian, mobilitas dan fleksibilitas dari perangkat mobile tersebut [7,8,9].…”

How information processing and mobile channel choice influence product returns: An empirical analysis

“…Mobile devices, particularly smartphones, usually have relatively small screens to make them portable (Ghose et al, ). The resulting narrower view (Ghose et al, ), higher information rate, and higher visual complexity (Sohn et al, ) lead to users’ difficulty in locating information (Forman et al, ; Ghose et al, ; Xu et al, ), stronger ranking effects (Ghose et al, ), stronger sequencing of information (Kleinmuntz & Schkade, ), and higher perceived spatial crowdedness (Sohn et al, ). These in turn require mobile shoppers during their information search process to navigate more within and between pages, engage in additional search processes (Ghose et al, ; Xu et al, ) and memorize more information (Albers & Kim, ; Chae & Kim, ; Scammon, ).…”

“…Moreover, less search processes might be carried out overall, because more navigation is required for a single search process, and cognitive scrolling and click costs accumulate more rapidly (Albers & Kim, ; Ghose et al, ). Overall, information processing on mobile devices is more strenuous due to smaller display sizes (Forman et al, ; Ghose et al, ; Sohn et al, ), information rate and visual complexity (Sohn et al, ). Screen size is related to task performance (Chae & Kim, ; Jones, Taylor, & Reynolds, ; Sohn et al, ).…”

“…Overall, information processing on mobile devices is more strenuous due to smaller display sizes (Forman et al, ; Ghose et al, ; Sohn et al, ), information rate and visual complexity (Sohn et al, ). Screen size is related to task performance (Chae & Kim, ; Jones, Taylor, & Reynolds, ; Sohn et al, ). Increased cognitive effort for purchase decision making on mobile devices may be the cause of changes in observable behavior, such as aborted purchase processes, shorter sessions (Sohn et al, ), smaller individual order sizes (Wang et al, ), and a tendency to purchase lower‐priced items (Huang et al, ).…”

“…For many companies, the mobile internet has become the main growth driver, as the example of Facebook shows (Forbes, ). Mobile devices, however, are fundamentally different from desktop devices; they vary in display sizes (Sohn, Seegebarth, & Moritz, ; Xu, Chan, Ghose, & Han, ), input method (finger vs. mouse and keyboard; Chung, Kramer, & Wong, ), convenience (Clarke, ), and context of use and ubiquity (Forman, Ghose, & Goldfarb, ) and timeliness of information access (Ghose, Goldfarb, & Han, ). Oftentimes, on mobile devices, consumers are presented with additional aids to simplify and speed‐up purchase decision processes, such as pop‐ups, bigger “purchase” buttons or a much stricter funnel towards purchase.…”