The Number of Alternative Products and the Information about it on the Online Shop

As the Internet can aggregate and distribute a great amount of information to users, providing numerous products for consumers has been recognized as a major advantage of electronic commerce. Causing by the problem of information overload, however, consumers facing many alternatives on the online shop may feel hard to decide which one they prefer. Based on the theory of decision style and prospect theory, this study explores if too many products sold on the online shop will reduce consumers’ subjective status toward their buying decision. A 3×3 between subjects experiment was conducted and showed that the buyers’ decision style, the quantity of alternative products and the information about it will affect consumers’ subjective status. These results suggest that we should consider the role of electronic intermediaries more carefully, and further examine the theory of information overload and the need for information literacy to prepare for the future