Interactivity

An important attribute of the use of a Website to disseminate product information and conduct e-commerce is the ability of the customer to interact with the site, through certain features in support of such functions (Palmer & Griffith, 1998). These functions include both text-based email inquiries and feedback forms and entertaining features that attempt to retain customers at the site for longer visits (Ghose & Dou, 1998). Entertaining features in this particular hypertext medium include pictures, virtual reality display of products, multimedia shows, online games, and use of cartoons and humor (Ghose & Dou, 1998; Huizingh, 2000; Philport & Arbittier, 1997).

A Website is a mix of direct selling and advertising with characteristics of both general product display and interactive involvement with customers (Berthon, Pitt, & Watson, 1996). In addition to providing product information, through hypermedia, a Website can engage visitors in dialogues such as inquiries, suggestions, order status tracking, new product proposal, and online problem diagnostics (Ghose & Dou, 1998). This medium affords a rich collection of formats that are available to the marketer in the presentation of products.

From a broader perspective, interactivity is an important dimension of features that distinguish the Internet from other media. Steuer (1992) gives a concise definition of this concept related to the Internet. He considers interactivity to be "the extent to which users can participate in modifying the form and content of a mediated environment in real time" (p. 84). Interactive functions allow the user to participate actively in the exchange and persuasion process through direct manipulation of the structural elements of a site (Rodgers & Thorson, 2000).

Like television, the interactivity of this medium provides the potential to deliver information in an entertaining form.

Hypermedia is multimedia. Animation, video, and audio complement traditional text and graphics when used judiciously. The behavior of Website visitors can be either goal-directed, i.e., searchers, or can be experiential, i.e., surfers (Hoffman & Novak, 1996; Singh & Dalal, 1999). Entertainment supports experiential flow of surfers because they are more likely to engage in "shallow, sensory-level, peripheral processing of the executional aspects of the message" (Singh & Dalal, 1999, p. 95). Hence, entertainment features are more likely to have an impact on exploration behavior and attitude of surfers.

In traditional advertising literature, the following ad features have been studied and linked to subjective measures derived from user profile studies (Rodgers & Thorson, 2000): color, size, typeface, product class, appeal type, animation, audio, sound level, sound clarity, and movement. They argue additional features like vividness, realism, and interactivity can be studied because the Internet encompasses and expands the complexities of print and broadcast media. Ultimately, the purpose of identifying objective and subjective measures of a commercial message is to enable predictions of consumer perceptions and responses to messages that contain those features.

In an experimental study, Li and Bukovac (1999) find the objective structure of size and animation on a banner ad makes a difference in viewer responses. They find large animated banners are more attention getting than smaller and static banners and thus assist recall of the ad. Coyle and Thorson (2001) argue interactivity and vividness are the two main factors affecting perceived telepresence, and, consequently, attitude toward the site. They find the presence of image maps, audio, and animation influence perceived telepresence and attitude toward the site (Coyle & Thorson, 2001).

According to Steuer (1992), telepresence is the perception of direct experience through virtual reality, which in turn is a simulated environment in which the user feels present. Such a telepresence fulfills the needs of escapism, diversion, or aesthetic enjoyment (Ducoffe, 1995, p. 3), where the value of entertainment lies (McQuail, 1983).

Unlike continuous animation in a banner ad or on a Web page, whose only purpose is to gain attention, some animations are intended to display a product from a multi-dimensional perspective and are only active upon request or when the mouse pointer is moved upon. Many shopping sites present a larger image, some full screen, to let the user view the details of a product, if the user so desires, by clicking on a miniature version of the product picture. The same benefit derives from use of animation upon request. For example, Nissan's Website allows the user to look at its newly introduced model through animation of a car turning around slowly after the visitor requests it. This interactive capability allows the user to choose what she wants to see (Rodgers & Thorson, 2000).

A picture is worth a thousand words. A literal interpretation of this old saying is appropriate in our current context. A "true picture" of a product is information a consumer values (Ducoffe, 1996; McQuail, 1983). Animated product displays not only provide the consumers an opportunity to see the product from multiple angles, but also enhance the directness of their product experience, which has been found to produce more confidently held and more enduring attitudes (Coyle & Thorson, 2001; Smith & Swinyard, 1982, 1983). Such direct product experience is informative due to its truthfulness, relevancy, and completeness.

Nielsen (1995) believes that product demos through animation or video clips are good for showing things that move. In particular, he believes that demos of physical products are well suited for the Internet medium. Judicious use of text, graphics, animation, video, and audio enhances the presentation of products and alerts visitors to promotions and special offers. Product detail can be presented from more angles than still pictures.

The user or visitor is the ultimate judge of the attractiveness of a site presentation. In a low-engagement information-processing mode — typically when a user stumbles across a site of marginal interest — pure text and plain background will not arouse much interest in the surfer. Graphics, animations, and video clips might be some of the elements that prevent a visitor from simply clicking away from a site.

The presentation of such product animation at a customer's request also signals the customer's willingness to process the information. The benefits derived from such exchanges conform to the substantiality of an "informative commercial" that warrants processing, as defined by Aaker and Norris (1982).

Seeing control as a major benefit of shopping online, customers favor sites that provide them with more perceived control (Koufaris et al., 2001). Additionally, a clickable image also leads to perceived interactiveness of a Website that Coyle and Thorson (2001) argue would further lead to a consumer's favorable attitude. The adoption of animation in this setting provides the consumer with more product information in an entertaining form, without causing irritation.



Computing Information Technology. The Human Side
Computing Information Technology: The Human Side
ISBN: 1931777527
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 186

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