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This paper explores the influence of product type and arithmetic task complexity on users’ perceived mental effort and satisfaction in the context of online grocery shopping. A two-factor within-subject experiment was conducted with 32 participants. Results show that experience products and complex arithmetic tasks are associated with higher perceived mental effort compared to search products and simple arithmetic tasks. Perceived mental effort and satisfaction are negatively related. The more cognitive effort users need to invest in their online shopping tasks, the less satisfied they are likely to be with their online experience. Our results suggest that cognitive absorption mediates the relationship between cognitive effort and satisfaction. The study contributes to our understanding of online grocery shopping by explaining the effect of arithmetic complexity and product type on user satisfaction. It also offers shopping website designers a way to improve consumers’ online grocery shopping experience by implementing simple technology features in their websites to help users reduce their mental effort.

This paper explores the influence of product type and arithmetic task complexity on users' perceived mental effort and satisfaction in the context of online grocery shopping. A two-factor within-subject experiment was conducted with 32 participants. Results show that experience products and complex arithmetic tasks are associated with higher perceived mental effort compared to search products and simple arithmetic tasks. Perceived mental effort and satisfaction are negatively related. The more cognitive effort users need to invest in their online shopping tasks, the less satisfied they are likely to be with their online experience. Our results suggest that cognitive absorption mediates the relationship between cognitive effort and satisfaction. The study contributes to our understanding of online grocery shopping by explaining the effect of arithmetic complexity and product type on user satisfaction. It also offers shopping website designers a way to improve consumers' online grocery shopping experience by implementing simple technology features in their websites to help users reduce their mental effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on product distribution channels has mainly focused on channel cost, risk aversion, consumer fairness preference, price decision, channel coordination, and channel selection while paying less attention to the product experience. Compared with offline channels, the online channel is at a disadvantage with regards to the product experience. For experience products, consumers cannot accurately access the value of the products through online channels because of its virtuality. In contrast, offline channels can attract more consumers with real product experience. However, the application of virtual reality technology has become increasingly more extensive in recent years. Virtual reality technology enhances the interaction level between online consumers and experience products, and it can help consumers assess product value more accurately, which has a greater impact on consumers' purchase decisions. Manufacturers can make full use of virtual reality technology to expand online sales. To maximize the manufacturers' revenue, this paper uses consumer utility theory and game theory to design four experience products' distribution channel models and analyzes the relationship between the manufacturers' revenue in different distribution channel models and virtual reality technology. The results show when the interaction level of virtual reality technology is low, manufacturers tend to choose a dual distribution channel, but when the interaction level of virtual reality technology is high, a single online distribution channel is the best choice for manufacturers.

As individuals increasingly rely on the Internet to access product information, search engines have become an important navigation tool to enhance information collection efficiency. Although there are plenty of user-generated reviews to help consumers evaluate product quality, individuals often seek further information using search engines such as Google before making a purchase, especially for experience products. With the accelerated pace of economic activities and the development of the internet and mobile technologies, consumers' shopping dynamics have been intensified. Therefore, it is of both theoretical and practical significance to track the shifts in customer interest with minimum time delay. Unlike previous studies that have used monthly or weekly data, we focus on the near-term relationship between Google search and product sales. The search requests recorded by Google Trends provide us an ideal database to learn the collective attention of potential customers in a timely fashion. Combined with the hotel data collected from Expedia.com, this study first investigates the relationship between Google search volumes and the related product sales with 48-hour time-lag intervals. The results confirm a two-way positive effect between these two factors. We further explore the influence of price discounts on consumer search behaviors and the moderate effect of retailers' online reputations. The results suggest that offering a price discount has a positive impact on the Google search volume of the promoted product, however the retailer's online reputation negatively moderates this influence. The findings not only have significant practical implications for the hotel industry but also benefit the experience products industry in general. Moreover, the findings contribute to the literature on consumer behavior in the online market as well as on online WOM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]