Can consumers recognize misleading advertising content in a media rich online environment?

Abstract The worldwide growth and acceptance of e‐commerce provides consumers with the opportunity to shop in computer‐mediated interactive environments that simulate direct product experience. However, the phenomenal growth in advertising on the Internet and marketers' ability to rapidly change the content of online ads also create concerns about consumers being exposed to a plethora of potentially misleading advertisements on the Internet. Relatively little research to date has focused on how consumer beliefs are shaped by online advertising claims or are affected by media richness. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.