Methods of online grocery shopping: linking and searching

There are two dominant methods for locating information or goods on websites and online systems: searching and linking. Most previous research on searching and linking methods has focused on generic websites dedicated to locating information, such as Yahoo, rather than the searching and linking mechanisms used in specific applications, such as online shopping. In contrast, this study assessed the searching and linking metaphors inherent in online grocery stores, where each website must provide efficient tools for locating products if they are to be successful e-commerce websites. Worldwide grocery sites were judged against a checklist of advanced search features, and the use of searching and linking methods on the sites was evaluated using results from shopping scripts completed by eighteen participants.