Analysis of Information Digestion Differences between Buyers and Sellers in Online C2C Markets

Abstract

Although the size of consumer-to-consumer (C2C) markets has expanded in recent years, trust building has become a crucial issue in market services. Especially in online C2C shopping, where face-to-face interactions are impossible, efficient communication through product pages plays a key role. In this study, we tested five hypotheses focusing on the differences in perspectives between buyers and sellers regarding the importance of product page items by the empirical study using questionnaires. Additionally, we examined the impact of product categories and transaction experience on attitudes toward information communication. The results showed differences in the importance of all page items between buyers and sellers. Furthermore, we found the main effects due to product category and purchase experience for buyers, but these effects were not observed for sellers. These findings provide new insights for solving the conflicts among players in C2C markets.