Perceptions of Mobile Device Website Design: Culture, Gender and Age Comparisons

Abstract

Anytime anywhere services offered through mobile commerce hold great potential to serve customers in wireless environments. However, there is limited understanding of how mobile Web site design is perceived by diverse users. This chapter explores how users who differ by culture, age, and gender perceive the design of a mobile device and their subsequent level of satisfaction with the device. Sixty subjects were tested in a controlled laboratory experiment on an Internet enabled phone. The results of a quantitative analysis were statistically inconclusive in terms of cultural and gender differences, but significant differences were found between older and younger users. However, an in-depth qualitative analysis of interview transcripts revealed some interesting differences among cultural, gender and age groups. Consistent with findings in the stationary Internet domain, design elements were found to impact satisfaction with mobile services.