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. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.