Relative effects of the different bundles of web-design features on intentions to purchase experience products online

Selling experience products online is usually more challenging than selling search products. Addressing the calls for future research in the literature, we study how the different combinations of different web-design features can explain people's intentions to purchase experience products online by mitigating three different product uncertainties associated with such products. The results of a detailed experiment using artworks showed that combining expert opinions with product descriptions or experience simulation was more effective than combining product description and experience simulation. Moreover, unlike the findings reported in the literature concerning search products, this study showed that trust explained people's intentions to purchase experience products online more than perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Theoretically, we refine the product uncertainty model by demonstrating the differential effects of different product uncertainties regarding experience products. Practically, our study informs firms about the roles of different combinations of web-design features in selling experience products online. © 2024 Published by Elsevier B.V.