Why do consumers like websites?

Abstract

Although it is tempting to consider everything related to the Internet as new (eg the new economy), understanding of this new phenomenon will gain more from systematic studies that explore the fundamental similarities and differences between the Internet and classical advertising media. In this study, the authors show that the hierarchy of effects model, a well-known advertising effectiveness model, is an appropriate means to describe the attitudinal changes of consumers after visiting a website. It is also found that all four levels of the hierarchy of effects (attention, cognition, affection and conation) are closely related to the level of flow that consumers experience during their visit. Although several aspects of the consumers’ Web-learning process (particularly Web skills and intensity of use) are related to the hierarchy of effects, they are not the most important predictors of the hierarchy of effects. The involvement of consumers with the topic of the website and the flow they experience during their visit are the most important determinants of the hierarchy of effects. These findings underline the importance of targeted traffic generation. Instead of attracting ‘large numbers’ of consumers to a site, managers should focus on attracting the ‘right’ visitors.