Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil

Thair M Hamtini,Ana Alice Vilas Boas,Luciana Pussi Santos,Tania Regina Vasconcellos Dias

doi:10.4236/jsea.2013.611071

Abstract

The objective of this study is to compare the ranking of the quality of e-commerce B2C portals in Brazil according to explicit criteria described in the article with the ranking according to the INFO 100 ranking. Theoretical research is first described, followed by the construction of eight self-established criteria of B2C portal quality measures and identification and compilation of requirements used by the I-Best, Opinia, E-bit and other institutes. After that, a portal quality evaluation is made by the web site content analysis; finally, a comparison of the rankings is presented. The obtained results showed that in spite of the lack of knowledge of the criteria adopted by INFO100 [1], there could be agreement with the criteria adopted in this study, because there was agreement with the results for the Ponto Frio portal. Therefore, it was concluded that the eight criteria used in this study can be useful in a quality analysis of B2C electronic portals.

Highlights

Long-distance commerce to consumers has evolved from mail-order catalogs and telephone sales to the modern advanced form of e-commerce
When one speaks of Internet commerce as a new commercialization channel, the importance of regular evaluations of the quality aspects of the portals should be considered as an issue of overriding importance, because this is the contact instrument between consumers and the company, and a key factor in the success or failure of a virtual enterprise
With competition based on mouse clicks, pressure exists on each company practicing e-commerce to distinguish themselves from the others

Summary

Introduction

Long-distance commerce to consumers has evolved from mail-order catalogs and telephone sales to the modern advanced form of e-commerce. E-commerce makes it possible for retailers to open up new markets, reach new customers, and make commerce faster for their existing customer base. This trend was already visible in studies conducted by the Ernest & Young consulting company [2]. In the case of Brazil, according to IBOPE data [3], the number of Brazilian residential users that visited e-commerce sites increased 140% between September, 2000 and September, 2002. The same study mentions that in 2000, about 1.1 million web users in the country have visited at least one electronic commerce site. In September of 2002, that number had increased to 2.6 million and the number of active web users in Brazil had increased by 50.5% in these two years, despite the fact that the period was marked by technology company crises, energy rationing and the rise in the US dollar against the Real

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Conclusion