Cultural Considerations and Applicability of Western Usability Guidelines in the Design of Chinese E-commerce Websites
http://www.uigarden.net/english/cultural-considerations-and-applicability-of-western-usability-guidelines-in-the-design-of-chinese-e-commerce-websites

Tham, Ming-Po, Guomei Zhou and Xiaolan Fu
uiGarden
2005

Abstract:

The key to the success of e-businesses is to understand what entices people to buy things online and to provide them with the means to carry out these shopping transactions. E-business Web page designers must also have a sound understanding of the consumer behaviors in the targeted markets. Research to understand the psychology and expectations of online shoppers will not only help consumers and e-businesses but also the makers of the equipment and telecommunication infrastructure which supports these businesses. This paper discusses some of the issues in our research to i) understand what motivates Chinese consumers to buy online and ii) whether the Web usability guidelines derived in the West are appropriate for Chinese consumers.