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Widespread availability of electronically provided product information has the potential to significantly enhance the consumer's ability to cope with a complex product environment. The presentation of the product information can either facilitate or hinder the decision-making process. A valuable feature of e-commerce is comparison-shopping.

The usual method of presentation for comparison-shopping is the comparison matrix, which is based on a table format. This format maximizes the comparison of attributes across products.

The comparison matrix elicits several research questions:

Which row is more salient? And if so, are the adjacent rows affected by it?

Which column is more salient? And if so, are the adjacent columns affected by it?

A study is proposed to provide answers for these questions. The research will provide information regarding which presentation format can effectively support consumers when making their decision of acquiring a product online. These results can provide designers with guidelines when developing interfaces.

Participants:

Walky Rivadeneira, Ph.D. Student, Department of Psychology