How Do Firms Present Choice to Consumers? Some Unusual Decision Constructs Along the B2C Transaction Process

From prior research, the authors found certain design features amongst some online retailers were atypical of ‘good’ design elsewhere. It became apparent the transaction process is being used to present consumers with... [ view full abstract ]

From prior research, the authors found certain design features amongst some online retailers were atypical of ‘good’ design elsewhere. It became apparent the transaction process is being used to present consumers with optional extras that not only slowed the process, but also stressed and agitated consumers. The question is whether these tactics are ethical and consistent with ‘good’ marketing practice. A typical tactic is ‘drip pricing’, where firms present the consumer with an element of the price up front and then presenting additional components as ‘drips’ throughout the buying process. The research also identified some new and unusual decision constructs such as the ‘must-opt’. This paper seeks to produce a taxonomy of the type and nature of decision constructs encountered throughout online Business-to-Consumer (B2C) transactional processes. The findings presented herein make an incremental contribution in theorising and identifying decision constructs and analysing them in terms of opacity, clarity and frustration.

Keywords: Consumer experience, Ethical marketing, Online sales processes, Website design, Decision constructs, Must-opt.