Does More Mean Better? An Examination of Visual Product Presentation in E-retailing

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by California State University and can be found at: http://www.csulb.edu/journals/jecr/.Because of the intangible nature of online shopping, consumers perceive online shopping as being risky. This study examined how this risk can be reduced specifically by using a more effective online product presentation method. A combination of the number of product views (one and four) and size (small and large) of the product image were used to examine their influence on consumer’s mental intangibility and perceived amount of information, in which the two constructs ultimately influence perceived risk and patronage intentions. The results from the study showed that both product displays influenced mental intangibility even though an interaction effect did not exist. Comparatively, the number of product views and size had an interaction effect on perceived amount of information. These findings indicate how multiple product presentations can be used differently in reducing mental intangibility and perceived amount of information in an online shopping environment. Furthermore, perceived risk was found to be a partial mediator for both mental intangibility and patronage intentions, and perceived amount of information and patronage intentions. These findings provide useful information for e-retailers to consider for effective online product presentation