On‐screen characters: their design and influence on consumer trust

Purpose Previous research has focused on how trustworthiness can be evoked by the physical design of on‐screen characters (OSCs) within the e‐commerce interface. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether or not the OSCs representation, along with user differences, influence, how likeable, appropriate and trustworthy they are. Design/methodology/approach A web site was created for a simulated online bookseller and 183 people from various countries participated in the experiments. OSC representations were tested under four conditions in the main experiment: facial appearance (human‐like vs cartoon‐like) and gender (male vs female). Findings The results suggest that the human‐like characters are more likeable, appropriate and trustworthy in general terms. However, when perceived capabilities of OSCs are measured, a mismatch can occur between expectations and capabilities of the human‐like OSCs. In fact, cartoon‐like OSCs, especially female, had more positive effects on the web site interface. Research limitations/implications This study was limited to simulations of on‐screen scenarios. Future work, with access to the huge database required, could investigate the effects of truly interactive OSCs. Larger national sub‐samples would permit generalisations about cross‐cultural differences. Practical implications For e‐tailers and web designers, this study suggests critical design variables and response‐moderating variables that mediate the effects of OSCs in e‐retailing. It helps to understand customers' interaction needs in establishing and maintaining para‐social relationships, potentially increasing purchase intentions and persuasion. Originality/value The efficacy of different representations of OSCs to retail situations has been little investigated previously; this study measured how likeable, appropriate and trustworthy different OSC design formats are to different customer types.