The effects of information provision and interactivity on e-tailer websites

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the effects of providing more information (e.g. product and price) and enhancing the interactivity of a website on consumers' willingness to pay price premiums. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment tests the proposed framework and corresponding hypotheses. The test features eight versions of an experimental website, with varying combinations of online information (e.g. price information, product information, and interactivity). Findings – Providing more information, whether about the product or price, leads to increased trust among consumers, which has the capacity to reduce consumer price consciousness and thereby enhance price premiums. E-tailers can earn price premiums by enhancing the interactivity on their websites. Originality/value – Previous studies are ambivalent about the impacts of providing information online. This study examines two paths by which information provision influences price premiums: trusting beliefs and price consciousness. The results demonstrate that providing rich information, together with enhanced interactivity, increases the perceived trustworthiness of the e-tailer, which reduces consumers' price consciousness and increases the price premiums.