Does Enhanced Usability Increase Trust? : A case study on a Swedish snus e-commerce application

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of usability to enhance perceived consumer trust in a web application selling snus. This was done by answering the research question “Does usability affect Swedish snus consumers trust in snus e-commerce applications?”. The concept of trust is especially important in an e-commerce environment where consumers have to rely heavily on the seller to follow through on the transactions, and the web application is the main way of interacting with the seller. In order to do so, a web application, “Dosan”, was developed and tested to collect data about usability and the users perceived trust. The development was split into three iterations. Each iteration was composed of a development phase and a testing phase where five users tested and evaluated the web application. To approximate the level of usability and trust, the users’ task efficiency and effectiveness was recorded. After completing the test the participant was asked to fill out a questionnaire containing Likert scale questions measuring satisfaction and trust. In addition, participant comments were recorded and used as a basis for further development. Each iteration showed an increase in trust and usability, which led to the conclusion that there is a positive correlation between usability and trust, and indicates a causal relationship between the two.