How a Retailer’s Website Quality Fosters Relationship Quality: The Mediating Effects of Parasocial Interaction and Psychological Distance

Abstract

Due to strong economic growth in Internet development, the number of website users in Asian countries has increased dramatically. Online retailers such as Alibaba have been remarkably successful, but few research articles focus on the field of website usability and human–website interaction. As retailing websites become increasingly relational, consumers may tend to humanize brand personalities and develop a parasocial relationship with their favorite retail website. Based on the uses and gratification theory, this study empirically examined the effects of parasocial interaction and psychological distance in mediating the conceptual link between website quality and relationship quality in the context of a retailer’s website in China. The results showed that parasocial interaction and psychological distance are both full mediators between website quality and relationship quality. This research reveals that parasocial interaction can occur not only from interactions with brands but also between customers and a retail website. The findings support the value of using appropriate website strategies (e.g., web personification, design aesthetics, and usability) to build an intimate brand–customer relationship.