Influence of consumer product categorization on digital sales: The mediating effect of conversion rate

Erik Ernesto Vazquez, Diana Davila Ruiz, Julio César García Martinez

Abstract


Purpose: The objective is to know what the mediating effect of the category of consumer products on sales performance is.

Methodology: Data from 216 e-commerce platforms were used using the Search-Experience-Trust (SEC) categorization. Two t tests were used to confirm significant differences between product categories and regression analyzes were performed to test the hypotheses.

Results: The results show that the ease of evaluating products before consumption has two main effects in electronic commerce: 1) they increase web traffic and 2) they decrease their conversion rate. However, the results also show that the ease of evaluating a product category directly influences online sales per visitor, since the mediating effect of the conversion rate is only partial.

Implications: This study contributes in practice to be able to determine predictive models related to the supply and demand of retail products in electronic commerce and shows a way to segment consumers who depend on their perceptions of product categories.

Originality/Value: This research, unlike what is in the literature, contributes to the study of electronic commerce from the perspective of the company, and not from the perspective of the consumer, in the performance of sales and conversion rates.

Keywords: Category Management; Information Economics; E-commerce; Perceived product quality, Conversion rate.


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