Consumer expectations of online information provided by bank websites
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Kathryn Waite is a doctoral candidate at the University of Edinburgh and has a BA (Hons) English and Italian (Kent at Canterbury), an MBA (Edinburgh) and an MSc (Edinburgh).
Tina Harrison is a lecturer in Marketing at the University of Edinburgh with a BA (Hons) in Textile Marketing from Huddersfield and a PhD from UMIST. She has been at Edinburgh since 1993, where she teaches Marketing, Business-to-Business Marketing and Financial Services Marketing. Her research interests include segmentation of financial services consumers, loyalty, relationships and retention, and she has written a number of articles on these subjects as well as a book. Her consultancy projects have been in the same area.
Abstract Information search has been identified as the primary reason for Internet use in the UK. It is, therefore, important that companies understand the information requirements of consumers in order to ensure website effectiveness in aiding consumer decision making. This paper explores factors contributing to customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction with current online information provision by retail banks. The research consisted of a two-stage method involving focus groups and a quantitative questionnaire survey of young adult Internet users. Two hundred and fifty three usable questionnaires formed the basis of the quantitative analysis. Factor analysis identified seven key underlying expectation dimensions. An analysis of the most and least important attributes revealed that those contributing to decision-making convenience are preferred over the technological entertainment value of the site. The results provide an indication of the website features and design most likely to attract and retain customers. Keywords
Information search, consumer behaviour, financial services, Internet
INTRODUCTION
Kathryn Waite and Tina Harrison The University of Edinburgh, School of Management, 50 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JY, Scotland. Tel: +44 (0)131 650 3820; Fax: +44 (0)131 668 3053; e-mail: [email protected]
According to the Office for National Statistics (2001),1 information search is the primary reason for Internet use in the UK: 73 per cent of adults surveyed who had used the Internet reported the main purpose as ‘finding information about goods or services’. Developments in Internet technology have transformed an originally limited medium to one that has
# Henry Stewart Publications 1363-0539 (2002)
Vol. 6, 4, 309–322
the potential to provide consumers with information quantity and quality in an easily accessible form.2 A growing number of companies have invested in a corporate website to communicate their marketing messages: 63 per cent of UK businesses have their own or third party websites.3 Consequently, there has been increased competition among companies to attract and retain website customers. Understanding the needs of consumers in
Journal of Financial Services Marketing
309
Waite and Harrison
terms of information requirements is paramount to assessing website effectiveness. Assessing the effectiveness of websit
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