Online customer experience

: a model to assess and benchmark customers experience

Abstract

E-commerce has become an essential and highly competitive channel for eretailers, who have felt the need to invest in the experience delivered to customers, to differentiate from the competition. Customer experience has become one of the most critical determinants of success for an online business. However, much of the existing literature focuses on consumer perceptions and does not investigate this concept from a management perspective. Additionally, it also does not consider the latest technological developments such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality. This study offers a model to measure and compare the online consumer experience in e-commerce websites, considering eight dimensions that cover recent technological advances. The applicability of the model was verified through a multiple case study that evaluated companies in the footwear industry, taking into consideration two distinct segments, high-price and low-price segment. The data collected by websites’ observation enabled the confirmation of part of the suggested propositions. However, the propositions concerning the use of new technologies were not possible to be confirmed in both segments. Opportunities for improvement were identified, especially for high-price segment companies, since the results showed that these companies provide a less pleasant consumer experience than those of the opposite segment. This study extends the scope of the online consumer experience, by introducing more contemporary dimensions and metrics for its measurement. Additionally, the model allows an evaluation and comparison of the experience delivered by several online retailers, using the Portuguese footwear industry as reference.

Date of Award	7 Jan 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Susana Silva (Supervisor)