The Effects of Website Aesthetics on Online Search and Purchase Intentions: The Roles of Navigation Ease, Information Quality, Familiarity, and Privacy Risk among Digikala Users

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Management, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran

2 Department of Management, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran.

Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate the hierarchical effect of website aesthetics on customer intention, using Digikala as a case study. It seeks to explain the roles of variables -such as perceived ease of navigation, perceived information quality, familiarity, and perceived privacy risk- on search intention and purchase intention.
Method: In terms of purpose, this study is applied; in terms of approach, it is quantitative; and in terms of data collection method, it is a survey. The statistical population consists of individuals over 18 years of age who have made at least one online purchase from Digikala. The measurement instrument was a 25-item questionnaire whose face and content validity were confirmed by experts. Its reliability was verified using Cronbach's alpha coefficient in SPSS software. Assuming a 95% confidence level, the sample size was estimated at 384 respondents, and data analysis was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM).
Findings: Results indicated that website aesthetics has a positive and significant impact on perceived ease of navigation and perceived information quality. Furthermore, perceived ease of navigation, familiarity, and perceived privacy risk had a positive and significant effect on search intention, while search intention and familiarity positively and significantly influenced purchase intention. Conversely, the effect of perceived information quality on search intention, the effect of privacy risk on purchase intention, and the moderating role of privacy risk were not statistically significant.
Conclusion: The aesthetic design of the Digikala website plays a pivotal role in enhancing the user experience (ease of navigation and information quality) and, by increasing search intention and user familiarity, provides the necessary platform to strengthen customers' final purchase intention.

Keywords


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