The Persuasive Power of Rhetorical Website Design

An important issue related to e-commerce is what factors will enhance consumer loyalty to a website. To date there is not much empirical research that has been conducted on loyalty issues in the Internet shopping environment. The author demonstrates the importance of rhetorical design elements in a website on customer loyalty. The goal of e-commerce is to persuade consumers to come back often, and stay longer. In fact, this is a necessity to increase and drive profits. The rhetorical framework proposes that the more persuasive elements companies can offer through the visual display of their website, the more loyalty will be increased resulting in more frequent visits, repeat purchases, and “go here” “word-of-mouth” referrals. This book amplifies our understanding about the visual impact of design elements on website design and also offers online companies a model to create a persuasive site environment for online shoppers. This rhetorical approach will help online marketers, managers and website designers make the best design, and operational decisions for effective e-commerce implementation.