Does online interactivity matter? Exploring the role of interactivity strategies in consumer decision making

Given that the Internet does not afford an opportunity to inspect products before purchase, some customers hesitate to shop online. Online interactivity can supplement online decision-making with added product information. Based on the theories of impression management and deception, this study focuses on sellers’ online interactivity strategies (SOIS) and aims to explore the role of SOIS played in online purchase decision-making process. According to the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) paradigm, this study aims to understand how each component of SOIS affects transaction intention through consumer perceptions (perceived deception and perceived diagnosticity) and how this affect is moderated by product types (search goods and experience goods) in online marketplaces. Data collected from 475 respondents support most of our hypotheses. Product type positively moderates only the link between image creation and perceived deception. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.

► We propose sellers’ online interactivity strategies (SOIS) in C2C marketplaces.
► We examine impacts of each component of SOIS on consumer purchase decision making.
► We also analyze the moderating role of product type in the SOIS-perceptions link.
► Only slight image creation has a direct effect on perceived diagnosticity.
► Two components of SOIS indirectly affect perceived diagnosticity.