Digital Businesses and User Experience: A Qualitative Research

Abstract

Purpose – In this study, it is aimed to evaluate the user interface designs of e-commerce sites offering online shopping, which provides direct interaction to customers, with user experiences in a real shopping environment.

Design/methodology/approach – In the scope of this study, various e-commerce sites were examined by considering several criteria including product categories, target audiences and customer groups. Among examined e-commerce web sites, customer experiences were performed on an specified e-commerce site for which ethical clearance was obtained for evaluation. In order to select the sample group, maximum variation sampling method was employed. In total 32 volunteer participants, were given various tasks and ensured to complete a real shopping process. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the participants who completed the shopping process. Qualitative data collected with the interview form were analyzed using the MAXQDA 2020 software.

Results – According to results, while the participants made positive comments about the home page on points such as category, menu, visuality and simplicity, they presented negative opinions in sections such as color, product design, pictures, product information. While 75.7% (28) of the participants’ opinions stated that they were satisfied with using the e-commerce site, the opinions expressing dissatisfaction were in the 13.5% (5) section. While 62.3% (33) of the participants’ opinions include positive statements, 37.7% (20) have negative statements.

Discussion – Although there are studies on e-commerce web sites in the literature, the studies that evaluate the web page interfaces with qualitative data obtained from a real shopping process will contribute to the literature. This study is important in evaluating e-commerce site from direct customer views with user experience and a further interview. In line with the results of the study, various suggestions were made for the usability and improvement of web pages. In the light of these suggestions, it is expected that this study will contribute to businesses to gain competitive advantage, to create customer satisfaction, and to survive in digital environment.