Do Internet Shopping Aids Make a Difference? An Empirical Investigation

Some Internet shoppers use online shopping aids to help them search for products and services, and to assist them in making in-depth comparisons among alternatives. By presenting comparison information on salient criteria (e.g., price) from multiple vendors of a specific product, online shopping aids can increase the number of alternatives considered, while reducing search time and costs. In this paper, we report the results of an experiment intended to examine online shopping perceptions between two Internet shopping groups: one that used an online shopping aid and another that did not use the aid. Our results show that online shopping aids are convenient and reduce search efforts. Based on the findings, we discuss possible implications for research and practice.