The Effect Of Subjectivity On Online Purchanse And Consumer Satisfaction

When shopping online, consumers tend to seek objective product specifications and direct comparison between different products; however, objective product specifications might not bring them the best choice or the best post-purchase satisfaction. This thesis demonstrate that consumers'subjective ratings to each specification are more useful information than objective specifications for consumers when they make shopping decisions online and lead to better post-purchase satisfaction about the products they choose. The reason is that there is no other choice to compare with in the consumption phase, and that the specifications have received undue weight in the decision phase. Two laboratory experiments, of which one mimicked online-shopping scenarios, verified that customers derived better post-purchase with subjective information at the decision phase. At the end of the thesis we discussed some implication of the findings and propose relevant advices to online marketing.