How To Impress Those Who Shop Gifts Online

Shopping gifts online is common in daily life. Therefore, how to impress consumers who shop online for others is crucial to online shopping sites. However, few studies have looked at this specific shopping context. When consumers are shopping online, sometimes they may prefer different kinds of information during their decision-making process. Then, what information should online shopping sites render to consumers who shop for others? To be more specific, which types of product description will stimulate online gift shoppers’purchase intention? What kinds of customer reviews will effectively lead to purchase decision? What kinds of price format do online gift shoppers prefer?The current research examines the effect of social distance on online consumers’ purchasing behavior based on the Construal Level Theory. The decision-making process in online shopping context can be considered as information processing. The three experiments in this research examine the influence of social distance and construal level of information of online shops on consumer’s purchasing behavior.The finding of this research includes:(1) the construal level of product description and the social distance of the purchasing have interaction in consumer’s purchase intention. When the social distance between the buyer and the user is close, buyers prefer product description with lower construal level, and more abstract product description leads to higher purchase intentions. On the other hand, when the social distance is far, consumers prefer product descriptions with higher construal level. (2) The same interaction also exists between the construal level of customer reviews and the social distance of the purchasing. When the social distance between the buyer and the user is close, consumers prefer customer reviews with lower construal level, and more abstract reviews leads to higher purchase intentions. On the contrary, when the social distance is far, consumers pays more attention to customer reviews with higher construal level. (3) When it comes to price format, customers buying for others may ignore the price surcharge as they are with more abstract mindset. While consumers buying for themselves are more likely to notice the additional shipping fee, which will affect the consumer’s decision making. This paper extends the research context of Construal Level Theory and provides a new angle to research online consumer behavior.