Impact of Usability Website Attributes on Users’ Trust, Satisfaction and Loyalty

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an experimental study aimed at identifying possible relationships among website usability characteristics, consumer satisfaction, trust and loyalty. These factors regard not only customer satisfaction in a transactional sense, but in the long term they may affect e-customer behavior, opinions, recommendations and attitudes toward using on-line services in general. The study was performed with 15 Polish subjects who have made 90 evaluations of six websites offering on-line access to health, financial and travel services. To achieve the purpose of this study and to test the hypotheses, both measurement models and a structural model were evaluated by applying a partial least square approach to structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). It was found that four website attributes relate positively to customer satisfaction with the website. These were visual clarity, customer care, demonstration of service and user guidance. Regarding customer trust, we observed that customer care, information content and visual clarity are drivers of trust. Both satisfaction and trust positively influence the loyalty of customers to a website. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ss.85.3.8409