Rich media like product videos and virtual product experiences (VPE) can improve online shopping. This study examined their impact on consumers' purchase intentions and willingness to pay. An online experiment presented different products using static images, videos, or VPE. Results showed rich media increased consumers' sense of being informed and excitement, leading to higher purchase intent. VPE had the strongest effect on purchase intent. While not statistically significant, willingness to pay was highest for experience products tried through VPE, suggesting rich media may especially benefit retailers of such goods.

1. Examining the impact of rich media
on consumer willingness to pay in online stores
指導⽼老師 蔡家⽂文 教授
學⽣生 鍾聖彥

2. 論⽂文簡介
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Journal：Electronic Commerce Research and Applications
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Author：Ting Li , Zornitsa Meshkova
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, The Netherlands
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Article history:
Received 8 March 2013
Received in revised form 3 July 2013
Accepted 3 July 2013
Available online 13 July 2013
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Keywords:
Interactive media
Online experiment
Purchase intention
Product videos
Rich media
Virtual product experience(VPE)
Willingness to pay
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3. Introduction
Examples of innovative online shopping projects enabled
by web development technologies.
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Virtual makeover solutions, where customers can try
different hairstyles and accessories on top of their own
photos (dailymakeover.com)
• Product videos, 360-degree product views, and other
interactive ways of looking at products
(Apple.com,Canon-Europe.com, Philips.nl, and
Sony.com) (Azo 2010, Fiore et al. 2005).
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4. Introduction
Product videos and interactive technologies such as
virtual product experience (VPE) provide customers with
the opportunity to create a more detailed mental picture
of products before buying them.
虛擬產品體驗(virtual product experience)：!
採⽤用三度空間模擬與多媒體等技術，提供消費者線上產品體驗服務。

5. Introduction
Rich media can improve the online customer shopping
experience.
It is well known that product videos, and especially VPE
capabilities are costly marketing tools.
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But will e-merchants benefit economically?
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6. Introduction
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This research examines:
Online Stores
Rich Media
Purchase
intentions
Willingness
to pay
This paper delves into the consumer responses directly
related to purchase behavior – consumer purchase
intentions and willingness to pay a price under different
product presentations.

7. Introduction
This research has three objectives:
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It will determine whether the use of rich media
(VPE or product videos) in online product presentations influences consumer
purchase behavior in terms of purchase intentions and willingness to pay.
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It will examine the extent to which the two rich media formats affect
consumer informedness and excitement about the shopping experience
and will determine whether these factors in turn influence consumer
purchase behavior.
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It will examine whether the effects of rich media on consumer responses
differ depending on the product type being explored.

8. Theoretical background and hypothesis development
. It was based on the availability of sufficient product information before purchase (Nelson 1974). Product search
attributes easily can be evaluated before purchase based on the presented product information – for example, the
color of clothes, the design of furniture, etc. Experience attributes are harder to judge before purchasing a product
because they require a more direct consumer experience than the passive observation of the product.

9. Methodology

10. Measurement of constructs

11. Marginal consumer willingness to pay was measured using
the double bound dichotomous choice (DBDC) format.

12. Data analysis

13. Result

15. Result

16. Conclusions
Including a new dimension, important for online retailers’ profitability: marginal
consumer willingness to pay.
• The results supported the suggested hypothesis that VPE and product videos surpass
static presentations in terms of the level of informedness and the feeling of excitement
they leave in consumers.
• The two rich media displays led to higher purchase intentions via the strong mediation
effects of consumer informedness and excitement.
• The interactive technology of VPE in particular had a significant direct positive
influence on purchase intentions.
• Willingness to pay values were explained partially by the significant effects of product
type and purchase intentions.
[Although not statistically significant, the mean values analysis of willingness to pay
showed that the highest willingness to pay estimates were taken during the interactive
examination of the experience product, suggesting that VPE might be more beneficial
for retailers of experience products.]
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