Giving an “E-Human Touch” to E-Tailing: the Moderating Roles of Static Information Quantity and Consumption Motive in the Effectiveness of a Virtual Salesperson

This study examines the impact of a virtual salesperson in an online store on consumers’ attitude toward the web site, product, and their purchase intentions. Our results indicate that the impact of the virtual salesperson is moderated by the amount of static product information on the web site and the consumer’s consumption motive. In study 1, we show that the virtual salesperson has a positive effect primarily when static product information on the web site is limited. In study 2, when detailed product information was readily available on the web site, the virtual salesperson proved detrimental when the consumer had a utilitarian consumption motive. Implications for online marketers are discussed.

Citation:

Subramanian Sivaramakrishnan, Fang Wan, and Zaiyong Tang (2007) ,"Giving an “E-Human Touch” to E-Tailing: the Moderating Roles of Static Information Quantity and Consumption Motive in the Effectiveness of a Virtual Salesperson", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 34, eds. Gavan Fitzsimons and Vicki Morwitz, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 495-496.