E-stores design: The influence of e-store design and product type on consumers' emotions and attitudes

This study examines the effect of e-store design dimensions (usability and aesthetics) on consumers' emotions and attitudes towards the store, in three different store domains. The study is based on a model of Web-store environment that describes how design aspects of Web-based stores affect the consumers' emotional states, which, in turn, influence attitudes towards the store. The present study extends a previous study by measuring emotions using bipolar (as opposed to unipolar) items, and by distinguishing stores in domains that range along the high-touch - low-touch continuum. The results indicate that the three basic emotions - pleasure, arousal, and dominance - improved consumers' attitudes towards the stores. There were some differences across domains in terms of the effects of design factors on emotions, but overall it was found that expressive aesthetics influenced arousal and pleasure, whereas usability influenced dominance and pleasure.