Understanding of User Preferences in Global Electronic Commerce Sites

This paper addresses issues of user preferences in web design of global e-commerce. Increasing attention to global e-commerce sites are not only global companies' concerns but also an issue for users. This research is an attempt to identify issues of global web design and user preferences particularly from different culture backgrounds. An exploratory study relating to user preferences,for design features in popular global sites is presented, and through it identifies a number of factors related to design in the B2C context and proposes a framework based on understanding of users' preferences of these factors. Results indicate that users are more likely to use global web sites if they find their favorite features in it. Users form different culture groups and their preferences are likely to influence different levels of design content in a web site. Furthermore, a user with his/her favorite design features that promote user's attention and lead to purchase of goods through the global sites.