Trust Me, Trust Products with My Name – How Online Retailers’ Brands Promotes Consumers’ Trust in Product Quality

Operations and Information Management Department; Faculty Adviser: Eric Clemons

This experiment, which will be conducted in China and in the U.S., investigates how online retailers’ brand equity can help enhance consumers’ trust in product quality and thus generate higher margins. Specifically, it looks at consumers’ quality perception if the product is distributed by well-known, tusted online retailers vs. unknown retailers; whether the effects differ for non-branded/unknown products; which kind of brand association between the retailer and its products is most effective in building trust (private label, brand alliance, “special edition” label); and how assurances such as guarantees promote consumer trust.