Interpersonal cues and consumer trust in e-commerce

Abstract

E-commerce stretches interactions over space and time, and thus requires more trust than traditional shopping. Current approaches to trust-building in e-commerce focus on cognitive trust. Human trust decisions, however, are also based on affective reactions, which can be triggered by interpersonal cues. This research investigates the effect of visual interpersonal cues on users' trust in e-commerce. First results indicate that visual interpersonal cues in the form of photographs have an effect on users' decision-making. This effect, however, strongly depends on context variables, as well as individual differences. A further issue under investigation is the potential negative effect of interpersonal cues on task performance. Thus, in a next stage, this research will combine eye-tracking with physiological measurements to investigate effects on task performance and user cost.