Evaluating usability of e-commerce sites by tracking eye movements

The majority of existing e-commerce design guidelines has been derived by conducting heuristic evaluations, without reporting the involvement of the users themselves. This research provides clarification on a number of existing web design guidelines for e-commerce sites based on empirical studies with users. Four studies were conducted and each study focused on a specific set of design guidelines as found in the literature. A combined qualitative and quantitative approach has been used, including a state-of-the-art technique, eye tracking. The eye movement data were complemented by user-profile data elicited through background questionnaires and user-perception data as captured through semi-structured interviews. The first study investigated users’ initial impressions of homepages of e-commerce sites. The second study examined users’ adaptability to persistent or varied placement of design elements. The third and fourth studies explored the effect of the presentation format of e-commerce web pages: the first in terms of the proportion of images, and the second in terms of how key icons related to an e-commerce transaction were presented. On the whole, the results of the studies corroborated existing design guidelines, but they also identified potential refinements. The thesis contributes both methodologically and empirically to Human-Computer Interaction. The combined methodological approach enables insight into the user experience that spans behavioural aspects such as visual search behaviour and visual search performance data, and subjective aspects such as user expectations and preferences. The empirical outcomes amplify the design guidelines from a user’s perspective

The value of comparative usability and UX evaluation for e-commerce organisations

The objective of this paper is to investigate the possible value of comparative user experience (UX) or usability evaluations for e-commerce organisations. Poor website usability has been identified as one of the main reasons why users abandon potential transactions. Appropriate evaluation of these sites is therefore essential. A problem with usability and UX evaluation is the lack of trust designers have in the evaluator’s recommendations due to the subjective nature thereof. This paper investigates the possible enhancement of the objectivity of such evaluations through cross-company comparative evaluations, so that designers can assess their design success against that of direct competitors in the market. We conducted an empirical, comparative evaluation of three similar organisations’ e-commerce websites using eye tracking as the primary data collection mechanism, and then demonstrated the potential value and usefulness of the outcomes

Visual Aesthetics of E-Commerce Websites: An Eye-Tracking Approach

This study adopts four facets of visual aesthetics (i.e., simplicity, diversity, colorfulness, craftsmanship) to explain how they relate with users’ gaze patterns, based on how much they fixate on certain points, as well as how fast and how much distance their eyes cover. On a sample of 23 experienced users in online shopping, we collect eye-tracking data while looking at high, neutral, and low appealing websites, and then register their perceptions on visual aesthetics towards those websites. Findings show different patterns of gaze behavior related with users’ perceptions on visual aesthetics. Short fixations with high saccade show high simplicity, while high fixation variance and high backtrack shows high diversity. Short fixations with high backtrack show high colorfulness. Low saccade velocity with high skewness shows high craftsmanship. We contribute towards the need of automatizing the process of understanding users’ perceptions of visual aesthetics, as we might be able to predict the user behavior in real time in the future

An Empirical Study on Web Usability

This project aims to better utilize the World Wide Web as a sociotechnical capital by improving web usability and user experience. Grounded in human-computer interaction literature, four hypotheses were formed and tested via two task-oriented studies: an online survey and an eye tracking study. Subjective assessments and objective measurements were taken. The results provided insight on designing websites that facilitate a more effective and pleasant user experience. Implications for improving the World Wide Web as social capital are discussed

Eye Tracking Evaluation Of Chinese Web Sites For The Chinese Market

This paper assesses and analyzes ways Chinese and European people view web sites designed in English and Chinese languages.  The results suggest some similarities and differences based on different cultures.The Chinese market is gaining more and more importance in the international business arena. Due to the strong Chinese Internet growth rates increasingly more global enterprises use the Internet for e-Commerce, market penetration and expansion, and to communicate information in China.  But the success of online communication with customers in the Chinese market is in many cases not as effective as planned, because of cultural differences between Chinese and European people.  Specific reading behavior, different cultural color definitions, diverse meanings of symbols or pictures as well as differing Chinese attitudes and values have to be considered when designing web sites for China. To gain more knowledge about the needs, tastes and behavior styles from Chinese Internet users, an experiment was designed with the following hypothesis:  Chinese and Europeans differ concerning web site evaluation and recognition due to culture.  Web sites designed for Chinese (Mercedes, Sony Ericsson, and China Eastern) were tested using an Eye Tracking camera.Observation, using an Eye Tracking camera, combined with a survey, showed that Chinese users share only preferences like clarity and comprehensibility in web site quality with German users.  Significant differences can be named concerning amount of information, design/color design and terminology.  During the tests it also became clear that the order in which the Chinese users look at elements (navigation bar, text, pictures, etc.), and the tested recognition is not identical to European users.

How does website design in the e-banking sector affect customer attitudes and behaviour?

This thesis researches the interface between ebanks and their customers. An industry traditionally based upon personal contact, the rise of ebanking has changed this relationship such that transactions are now mainly conducted via website interfaces. The resultant loss of personal contact between bank and customer has removed many of the cues available to customers upon which judgments of service, reliability and trust were made. The question raised by this change is: what factors influence consumer choice when viewing bank websites? The arguments of this thesis are that user evaluation of websites and their willingness to use those websites is based not only on user centred factors such as motivation, experience and knowledge but also upon their appraisal of website structure and content

Investigating User Satisfaction: An Adaptation of IS Success Model for Short-term Use

Research investigating the acceptance of information systems mostly focuses on systems designed for long-term use, rather than one-time or short-term use. However, short-term use systems are part of the health information technology portfolio. We propose a theoretical model inspired by the D&M IS Success Model to investigate user satisfaction, as a measure of acceptance, with a web-based decision aid designed for short-term decision-making. We hypothesize that media richness affects perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, learnability, information quality, perceived social presence, and trust, which eventually affect user satisfaction. We propose a mixed method to test hypotheses using eye-tracking, surveys, and interviews. As a pilot qualitative study (N=8), the survey outcomes indicated that constructs performed well (mean 7-point Likert scores >= 5.15 and mean system usability scale = 75). The eye-tracking and interview results showed that participants prefer multimedia, and pictures and visual designs drew their attention to the decision aid website