Article Preview
Top1. Introduction
The continually evolving web has changed the way human-computer interaction used to be (Ismagilova et al., 2019). The pervasiveness of technology has provided unprecedented choices on how we educate ourselves, buy and sell products, entertain and express ourselves, communicate with friends and family, spend our time on things and become informed about the world around us (Lalmas, 2014). In addition, the continuous connectivity of the Internet through smartphones allows a plethora of applications to choose from effortlessly, like multiple e-commerce sites, e-tailing sites, social networking sites, web search engines and email tools (Doorn et al., 2010). Therefore, the online platforms are a new venue of customer engagement and interaction for new-age businesses and customers.
Customer engagement in e-commerce (CEE) is paramount to success and must be a constant priority for businesses (Bilro, 2019). The traditional indicators of customer engagement are not sufficient anymore as businesses innovate to understand where they can find the customer today or in the post-pandemic era. As per statistics, customer engagement provides a better customer experience, leading 86% of customers to spend more and create a better brand differentiation (SmartInsights, 2018). The best way to activate e-engagement is to enable feedback and reviews from customers that engages the site visitors. The other statistics by Vernit, a leading customer engagement firm, reveals that engaged customers spread positive reviews offline & online about businesses and participates in loyalty schemes more (buildfire, 2019). So, it is evident that electronic word of mouth in the form of online reviews helps in better engagement of customers in e-commerce (Bilro, 2019).
Additionally, consumers turn to eWOM on the Internet website to solve their consumption problems to help them in search and exchange information (Eirinaki et al., 2012; Roozen & Raedts, 2018). As the online review is gaining acceptance (Statista, 2016), firms frequently face the dare necessity to study all the important perspectives posted by customers about their enterprises to create a holistic interpretation. Indeed, consumer information created through multiple platforms about product& service (Ayeh et al., 2013; Šerić and Praničević, 2018) referred to as electronic word of mouth (eWOM). The eWOM is critical since the product has a significant impact on consumer’s behaviour, brand awareness, and consumer attitudes, which ultimately leads to product sales (Vermeulen & Seegers, 2009; Lopez and Sicilia, 2014). The eWOM communication changed the power dynamics from marketers to active customers, thereby increasingly contributing to buying decisions (Chu & Choi, 2011; Cheung & Thadani 2012; Rani & Shivaprasad, 2018). Researchers have examined the impact of eWOM on consumer behaviours in a number of sectors like food services (Arndt, 1967), the entertainment sector (Brown & Richingen, 1987), banking activities (Keaveney, 1995), clothing (Richins, 1983), travel and financial services sectors (Litvin, 2006), Education & training (Lehmann, 2015) and electronic products (Shivaprasad & Rani, 2020).