Information elements of a website that promotes trust in e-commerce

Abstract

In a faceless business transaction such as in e-commerce, trust plays a major influence on a customer's decision making behavior. Trust on e-commerce is very much dependent on the information obtained from the vendors' websites. From our own personal experiences with e-commerce websites, it is not unusual to find some essential information missing. In this paper, we present to the readers our findings on what information elements e-commerce users consider or require to be present on websites. The paper starts with a brief review of related studies and in the following we described the survey that has been conducted. We then present the data collected and our analysis. Finally, we conclude with a list of information elements that e-commerce websites must provide in order to gain the trust of potential customers and influence their decision making process.