Attention to product images in an online retailing store: an eye-tracking study considering consumer goals and type of product

Abstract

The visual content of the product area is crucial in an e-commerce site. This paper studies the differences in attention to product images in the product area in e-commerce sites considering the effects of purchase stage and product category. Attention to product images on websites is measured using eye-tracking in two experiments with 58 students and 66 subjects, with four product categories and four purchase tasks in each one. Our results show that pictures, in general, attract attention first, before the product names and price information. Furthermore, images attract less total attention than textual information. Images attract less attention when they are not crucial for completing the task, such as when purchasing a determined product or when locating product tracking information. Younger people (less than 30) spend much less time viewing the product pictures than older age groups (50 or more). According to our results, e-retailers could improve their sites’ performance by adapting the products’ presentation to the purchase tasks and visitor characteristics.