Influence of Website Design on E-Trust and Positive Word of Mouth Intentions in E-Commerce Fashion Websites

摘要

The online sales channels of fashion stores, like the physical stores, aim to capture and retain customers. In the case of online sales channels, such as e-commerce fashion websites, success depends on the confidence that customers have in their use and reputation, which can be assessed through customers' intentions to convey positive opinions about the website. Studies in the literature state that the design of the website, both in terms of its visual aspect and usability, contributes to increasing the confidence and positive word of mouth (WOM) intentions defined as information and/or rumour sharing between individuals of customers. This study seeks to validate this hypothesis regarding fashion e-commerce websites. To this end, a survey-type study was conducted involving 220 customers of e-commerce fashion websites. The results of the study support the hypothesis that website design contributes to generating trust in it, and consequently positive WOM intentions.