Journal of Software Engineering and Applications, 2013, 6, 589-596
Published Online November 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/jsea)
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jsea.2013.611071
Open Access JSEA
589
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil
Thair M. Hamtini1, Ana Alice Vilas Boas2, Luciana Pussi Santos2, Tania Regina Vasconcellos Dias2
1Department Computer Information Systems, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; 2The Department of Management and
Economy, The Federal University of Lavras, Lavras, Brazil.
Email: thamtini@ju.edu.jo
Received October 14th, 2013; revised November 8th, 2013; accepted November 15th, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Thair M. Hamtini et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
The objective of this study is to compare the ranking of the quality of e-commerce B2C portals in Brazil according to
explicit criteria described in the article with the ranking according to the INFO 100 rankin g. Theoretical research is first
described, followed by the construction of eight self-established criteria of B2C portal quality measures and identifica-
tion and compilation of requirements used by the I-Best, Opinia, E-bit and other institutes. After that, a portal quality
evaluation is made by the web site content analysis; finally, a comparison of the rankings is presented. The obtained
results showed that in spite of the lack of knowledge of the criteria adopted by INFO100 [1], there could be agreement
with the criteria adopted in this study, because there was agreement with the results for the Ponto Frio portal. Therefore,
it was concluded that the eight criteria used in this study can be useful in a quality analysis of B2C electronic portals.
Keywords: B2C Portals; Criteria; Quality; E-Commerce
1. Introduction
Long-distance commerce to consumers has evolved from
mail-order catalogs and telephone sales to the modern
advanced form of e-commerce. The physical presence of
the consumer is not necessary anymore as in traditional
commerce. E-commerce makes it possible for retailers to
open up new markets, reach new customers, and make
commerce faster for their existing customer base.
This trend was already visible in studies conducted by
the Ernest & Young consulting company [2]. According
to this study, 60% of the American population was at that
moment already connected to the dot-com world. Elec-
tronic commerce via Internet has developed significantly
since its inception. In the case of Brazil, according to
IBOPE data [3], the number of Brazilian residential u sers
that visited e-commerce sites increased 140% between
September, 2000 and September, 2002. The same study
mentions that in 2000, about 1.1 million web users in the
country have visited at least one electronic commerce
site. In September of 2002, that number had increased to
2.6 million and the number of active web users in Brazil
had increased by 50.5% in these two years, despite the
fact that the period was marked by technology company
crises, energy rationing and the rise in the US dollar
against the Real.
The publishing industry stands out, because there are
no changes between the product sold via the Internet and
that directly bought from the supplier or in traditional
shops. Amazon has been particularly successful. It was
the first company to market books via the Internet and
reached sales of US$1.89 billion dollars and profit of US
$111 million in 2004 [4].
Research conducted by the Fundação Getúlio Vargas
[5] on e-commerce in the Brazilian Market, revealed that
in 2003, the value of B2B and B2C transactions of com-
panies that acted in the Brazilian market reached about
US$16.3 billion. At the end of 2003, 4.94% of the B2B
transactions were carried out via Internet, totaling
US$11.8 billion. However, the B2C electronic transac-
tions represented 2.08% of the total market, with a turn-
over of US$4.5 billion. In 2002, the volume of B2B
transactions was US$5.7 b illio n, and th at o f B2 C transac-
tions was US$1.9 billion. The research, conducted with
435 companies from various economic sectors, branches
and sizes, pointed out that the industrial sector pre-
sented the highest penetration (5.37%) in the B2B trans-
actions, followed by the services branch (4.87%) and
trade (3.97%). The payment systems most used by the
on-line consumers were the credit card, which 33% of
the interviewed persons preferred, followed by the smart
card (a form of electronic money) (10%), the e-check
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil
590
(9%), and the e-cash, which only 8% of the interviewed
people preferre d.
Researchers such as Daft et al., recognized the poten-
tial of the Internet for retailers to globally expand their
operations, improve commercial processes, reach new
clients and take maximum advantage of resources, by
using e-business as their spring board for this strategy.
The concepts of e-business and e-commerce vary ac-
cording to various authors. However, in this study, e-
business will be defined as any business that occurs
through the digital pr ocess in a computer network instead
of in a physical space. More commonly, it refers to elec-
tronic connection s with the customers, partners, suppliers,
employees or other key elements via the Internet.
Albertin [6] defines e-commerce as “the accomplish-
ment of the whole business process chain of values in an
electronic environment, through the intense application
of communication technologies and information, meeting
the objectives of the business.” Bloch, Piggneur and
Seveg in Alexandrini [7] define e-commerce as the “buy-
ing and selling of information, products and services
through computer networks with the support of any type
of business transactions that use a digital infrastructure.”
For this study, e-commerce is a term that specifically
refers to the commercial transactions that occur elec-
tronically.
The objective of this work is to make an evaluation of
the quality of the ten best portals according to Info100 [1]
using our own criteria, and to do a comparative analysis
with the INFO100 [1] classification, in order to discuss
the degree to which the two methods converge and di-
verge. This article will only consider B2C e-commerce.
2. Theoretical Reference
2.1. Electronic Commerce versus Tradition
Commerce
Today, information can be considered as one more com-
ponent among the company production factors. It is
through the manipulation of the information that a com-
pany can remain competitive in its market segments. As
such, Drucker [8] affirms that the e-commerce represents
for the Information Revolution what the railroad repre-
sented for the Industrial Revolution: a totally new and
unexpected advancement. It generates a novel and dis-
tinct “boom”, provoking accelerated transformations in
the economy, society and politics. It is thanks to e-
commerce that companies are losing or gaining their cli-
entele overnight, many times competing with competitors
never imaginable, usually from other parts of the country
or sometimes even from other countries of the world.
E-commerce created a new field of competition, and
according to Contador [9] the technology is characterized
as a support weapon of great importance for obtaining a
competitive advantage, different from most of the com-
bat weapons. For Porter (1985), (in Contador, [9], “The
technological development that a company achieves will
only be converted to competitive advantage: 1) if this
development reduces the cost or increases the differen-
tiation; 2) if the technological leadership of the company
is sustainable; 3) if the technological pioneerism repre-
sents a competitive advantage even after the technologi-
cal leadership disappears; 4) if the technological devel-
opment improves the general structure of the business
sector, even being copied.”
Bloch, Piggneur and Seveg in [7] classify the basic
e-commerce models in:
Business-to-business-B2B: The commercial transac-
tions take place among companies, usually within a sup-
plier or user of products, services and information rela-
tionship;
Business-to-consumer-B2C: The transactions take
place between companies and consumers, involving
payment strategies accepted by the parties involved. This
paper only considers the B2C channel.
In a general way, companies develop B2C e-com-
merce portals with the following objectives, according to
Albertin [6]: to promote the electronic presentation of
goods and services; to increase the market share through
a more popularization and marketing; to give customers
an attractive and easy trade navigation environment ; to
offer payment and transportation options accessible to
the target public; to improve the time and the quality of
the rendered services; and to automate transactions be-
tween suppliers and companies in order to minimize
costs and facilitate the processes. Table 1 makes a com-
parison of commercial transactions via traditional trade
and e-commerce.
E-commerce made it a prerequisite that payments can
be made in a time-independent and free way without
geographical, political and commercial barriers. For this
reason, it depends a lot on the physical support from
conventional money and especially from electronic mo-
ney, such as the credit card. Table 2 displays the main
means of payment used in the traditional trade and in
electronic commerce. There are many advantages with
planned and implemented e-commerce, in comparison
with the tradition a l trade:
• The relationships with the customers are improved,
due to a higher interactio n carried out through d irect lin es
(electronic mail, telephone) or through advertising and
marketing done on the site itself;
• Costs to win the trust of a customer are less than
costs that would be incurred in traditional trade;
• Through the rationalization of processes and person-
nel, the time involved in the whole purchase, sale and
delivery process of the product is optimized;
Transportation, storage and distribution expenses are
Open Access JSEA
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil
Open Access JSEA
591
Table 1. A comparison of commercial transactions.
Sales Cycle Steps Traditional Commerce
(multiple media involved) Eletronic Commerce
(one medium involved)
Acquire information on the product Magazines, folders, catalogs Web pages
Request an item Printed forms, letters e-mail, Web pages
Analyze catalogs, prices Catalogs On-line catalogs
Analyze availability of items and price conformity Phone Calls, Fax On-line catalogs
Send order (buyer), Receive order (supplier) Fax, mail E-mail, EDI
Prioritize order - On-line database
Analyze in stock inventory Printed form, telephone , fax On-line database, Web pages
Schedule delivery Printed form On-line database
Generate invoice Printed form On-line database
Receive product Any means of delivery Mail, Sedex
Confirm reception Printed form E-mail
Send invoice (supplier), Receive invoice (buyer) Mail E-mail, EDI
Schedule payment Printed form EDI, on-line database
Send payment (buyer), Receive payment (supplier) Mail EDI, EFT
Source: Pegoraro (2002). Abbreviations: EDI-Electronic Data Interchange (Electronic transfer of documents between computers); EFT-Electronic Funds Trans-
fer.
Table 2. Means of payment.
Means of Payment Traditional Commerce Electronic Commerce
In cash Through cash, it is made through a b ank
deposit in the merchant’s account
The transaction is conducted via the Internet and the payment is made
upon reception of the product by mail order or when
delivered to residence. Checks can also be used.
Bank payment booklet Issuedby the trade companies or service providersCan be issued on-line and reproduced on a home pri nter.
Check Widely used, mai n l y as promise of payment on
dates subsequent to the commercial transaction. -------------------
Bank transfer The monetary value transferred from the
consumer’s account to that of the merchant,
by consumer debit account authorization. The user makes on-line bank transfers.
Conventional
credit card Known as plastic money, widely known and used.Used for purchases through Internet. The consumer supplies
personal data and the number and expiration date of his/her credit card.
Virtual money Used in form of cumulative point s, allowing
conversion in exchange for pro ducts and or s ervices.Known as Cybercash, it allows the consumer to acquire
goods and services presented on the Virtual Portals.
Virtual credit card ------------------- Specific form of the Credit card in “bits” for the Internet.
Source: Melo (2002).
reduced, as well as expenses for stock through automa-
tion and reduction of processing time;
• The planning of a good marketing and advertising
system can lead the company to expand their markets and
increase competitiveness, with minimum capital, stock
and personal requirements;
• Improvement of communication and coordination
within the companies due to the higher use of informa-
tion technology, integration of systems and the Internet
itself;
• Contact with suppliers is more direct when done
through interlinked systems, eliminating the need for
representatives and inventories, and increasing the avail-
ability of products for the cu stomers.
Hammond [10] states that with the increasing number
of residences with Internet access, via dial-up, broadband
or mobile communications channels, the tendency is to-
wards the expansion of the e-commerce focused on the
final B2C consumer.
In Brazil, through Internet portal web sites, B2C e-
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil
592
commerce billing surpassed 1 billion Reals in 2003. Ex-
pectations for 2004 are that the sector grows about 30%,
arriving at 1.6 billion Reals. That would be done by ex-
pansion of the consumer base, which is now estimated at
2.5 million people. The revenue of the B2C e-commerce
in 2003 in Brazil resulted from the sale of automobiles,
tourism and consumer goods, especially CD’s, video
tapes, books, DVDs and other home appliances (MCT)
[11].
2.2. B2C Electronic Portals
According to Toledo 2002, portals can be classified ac-
cording to their use context Public ones are known as
Web Portals or Internet Portals. Users interact with them
as an interface with the network of servers which com-
pose the Internet. Portals possess the function of attract-
ing the general public and functioning as an additional
media for the marketing of products and as business or
corporate portals. They incorporate new technologies that
make the identification, capture, storage, recovery and
distribution of large amounts of information from multi-
ple internal and external sources possible for people and
teams of an organization.
Since B2C became a strategic tool for obtaining of
competitive advantage of the companies, a convenient
instrument of satisfaction of human needs and an eco-
nomic object, it became necessary to evaluate its effec-
tiveness. With this objective, research institutes have
been conducting statistical surveys on on-line activities,
including those of businesses. One of these studies is the
Brazilian INFO100 [1] research and is annually con-
ducted b y the ma g az ine Info Ex a me.
2.3. The Best B2C Electronic Portals According
to Info100 Research
The INFO100 [1] research by the Info Exame magazine
classifies the 100 biggest companies (Figure 1) that act
in the e-commerce market in Brazil. This magazine has
as mission to anticipate technological tendencies; test
hardware, software and high tech services; present prac-
tical computer, internet and telecom solutions; and to
provide career orientation to professionals involved with
information technology. It has as a policy independence,
integrity and exemption ; the first commitmen t of INFO is
to the reader and their interests; INFO treats all the tech-
nology market suppliers in the same exempt way; INFO
does not accept hardware or software donations, trips or
presents from any company and the INFO employees do
not have additional job nor can they provide any type of
service to technology companies.
Access to the evaluation criteria used in the Info Ex-
ame research was not available. Therefore its methodol-
ogy is unclear. But it is known that the magazine sent out
about 70 0 questi on na ires.
3. Methodology
The development of this work has, as a theoretical refer-
ential, web design, digital marketing and information
technology, having the pub lic portals of the ten best Bra-
zilian B2C e-commerce companies elected by Info100 [1 ]
as an object of analysis, research elaborated and pub-
lished by the Info Exame magazine. Web design, digital
marketing and information technology form the basis of
the methodology of this paper. The objective of this re-
search is to give a basis to the ranking of the most im-
Figure 1. List of the major B2C E-commerce companies according to Info100 2005. Fonte: Pesquisa Info100. da revista Info-
Exame edição 230, ano 20, maio/2005.
Open Access JSEA
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil 593
portant public portals of the ten best Brazilian B2C e-
commerce companies as published by INFO100 [1]
2005’s research published by Info Exame. The adopted
methodology consisted descriptive, comparative and
analytical methods. First theoretical research was done in
the areas of the methodology. In the subsequent stage,
the construction of our own criteria was done, private
and public data was consulted, and the identification and
compilation methods were adopted. In the last phase, in
which the evaluatio n of the portal quality was done, con-
tent analysis, consultations of the institutional site, team
and a systematic observation, identification and scale of
direct classification wer e undertaken.
Of the INFO100 [1] ranking, only the first ten portals
were used in this article. It is important to observe that
this work does not have the pretension of establishing
scientific validation of its own criteria, characterized in
Table 3, nor the classification of the portals proposed.
The authors implemented the evaluation of the portals in
order to establish some parameters and to create concepts,
and submit these criteria to users for quality measure-
ment of other portals.
The quality evaluation of the portals was carried out
starting from the parameters in Table 3. The scores for
the parameters were converted to an overall result as fol-
lows:
1st) a score from 0 to 3 was attributed for each portal
parameter, where 0 is none, 1 low, 2 medium, and 3 high.
2nd) the scores per analyzed electronic portal were
summed.
3rd) the portals were ranked according to the sum of
the scores.
4th) a comparative analysis of the results obtained in
this evaluation was done with the results from the Info
Exame Info100 research.
The characteristics that were appraised measured and
classified in each parameter of the e- B2C commerce
portals are shown in Table 3. They were obtained as a
result of research into the criteria used by research insti-
tutes specialized in e-business evaluations, such as: I-
Best, Opinia, E-bit, and others, that were analyzed and
compiled into a single criterion.
4. Assessment and Analysis of B2C Portals
4.1. Evaluation of the Portal Quality of the Ten
Best Companies by Info100
Currently, most organizations have already incorporated
the Internet and e-commerce as part of their information
technology strategy. With the use of e-commerce, these
organizations do more business, at lower transaction cost
when compared to the traditional market.
However, the world’s e-commerce is only a little over
six years old, and the Brazilian , about three. It is a sector
that is still growing, and therefore it can be a great busi-
ness opportunity for non-virtual organizations [12]. How-
ever, when one speaks of Internet commerce as a new
commercialization channel, the importance of regular
evaluations of the quality aspects o f the portals should be
considered as an issue of overriding importance, because
this is the contact instrument between consumers and the
company, and therefore a key factor in the success or
failure of a virtual enterprise.
With competition based on mouse clicks, pressure ex-
ists on each company practicing e-commerce to distin-
guish themselves from the others. Therefore, possessing
a quality portal becomes fundamental. A portal in con-
formity with the virtual consumer demand standards
should be considered as a comfortable disposition of re-
sources. Some studies note this.
In a study done in Europe and North America on the
development of the use of the e-commerce between 2000
Table 3. Evaluation parameters of B2C portals.
Parameter Characteristics of parameter evaluated
Accessibility Time taken for complete loading of the main page of the site.
Webdesign The amount and aesthetic placement of images, texts, sounds, videos and animation on the main page.
Communication tools Availability of contact, ‘speak to us’ (E-mails), chats, on-line service or other ways to contact the company.
Products and/or Services Marketed Availability of products and services.
Buying ease Availability of objective information in the product selection: product image, brand,
payment form , freight value, price, period of delivery and amount in stock.
Other items: sales ranking, customer satisfaction and possibilities for comparison.
Additional information Availability of uniformity with target-public, with the institution, awards.
Navigation Availability of search services, access to links to other sites, and return to the main page options, site map.
Privacy and handling policy Mentioning of privacy policies and registration data with explanations.
S
ource: The Authors.
Open Access JSEA
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil
594
and 2010, Hammond [10] points out the two most im-
portant barriers than can hinder the adoption of e-com-
merce by the consumer at home are: concerns about per-
sonal data security (among them, credit cards numbers)
and the low data transmission speed of dial-up connec-
tions to the residences.
According to this research, other relatively important
barriers, such as the h igh on-line cost, should be reso lved
within two years. Relatively unimportant barriers related
to tech nology, sh ould also b e reso lved in the n ear future .
They are: the lack of definition of a standard payment
system; insufficiently developed security/cryptography
technologies; high system creation and maintenance
costs for the retail sector and high access equipment costs
for the consumer.
Furthermore, according to the research, the impedi-
ments that will take more time to be resolved include
factors related to convenience for the consumer, who are
not able to specify schedules and appropriate places for
product delivery; technology, such as high distribution
costs for physical products; and the underdeveloped
consumer interface and concerns with the non-authorized
use of personal data, such as name, navigation habits and
similar As an alternative solution for this problem,
McKenna [13] suggests that organizations, in real time,
focus on consumer satisfaction, provide support, help,
provide orientation and necessary information on the
portals to widen the simple service, and collaborate for
the building of the consumer loyalty.
In line with this suggestion, this research provides an
evaluation of the portal quality of the ten best B2C e-
commerce companies. Table 4 details the scores per
analyzed parameter of each portal. The parameter com-
munication tools also served as a tiebreaker criterion by
demonstrating the concern of the e-commerce companies
for a continuous relationship with their virtual custo mers.
The possible maximum score for each analyzed portal is
24 points.
In this same table it can be seen that Gol [14], for in-
stance, obtained the highest scores in the evaluation for
accessibility, web design, communication tools and
products and/or services marketed criteria, totaling 20
points out of a maximum of 24. On the other hand, the
Fiat site [15] had the worst performance, because the
items such as accessibility, navigation and privacy and
handling policies got zero points, while the Visanet por-
tal qualified in last place by not qualifying as a B2C por-
tal. According to the INFO100 [1] research, Visanet was
considered as a B2C type company. However, it should
be classified as B2B because of its definition in the about
us link on its institutional portal. This mention s: “Visanet,
a company responsible for the relationship with the
commercial establishments affiliated to the Visa System,
was created in November of 1995 by International Visa
and by large Brazilian banks with the objective of ad-
ministering the network of commercial establishments
affiliated to the Visa System and centralizing operations
regarding the Visa card transactions in Brazil, until then
under the responsibility of the acquiring banks” (VISA,
2006). This is the fact which justifies its last place rank
in the portal quality evaluation.
The heterogeneity among the sectors, to which the
B2C e-commerce companies chosen as the best by the
Info100 [1] research belong, not considered by the pre-
sent research as a specific category its classification,
generated an intuitively sectorized comparison of the its
portal parameter characteristics.
The portal accessibility parameter from Table 4 was
derived from the average portal access time. Those times
are reported in Table 5. Results in Table 5 can be used
as a benchmark for other porta l s .
Table 4. Quality evaluation of the portals of the top 10 companies according Info100 2005.
General Motors VolkswagenVisanetFiatGolSubmarinoMagazine Luiza Ponto Frio Shop timeCarsale
Acessibility 3 0 1 0 3 3 0 3 2 2
Web design 2 1 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 0
Communication tools 2 2 2 1 3 1 2 1 3 3
Products and/or
services marketed 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Ease of Purchase 2 3 0 2 2 3 2 2 3 1
Additional Informations 3 3 0 1 2 0 2 0 1 3
Navigation 2 1 1 0 2 3 2 2 2 3
Privacy and handling policy 2 2 1 0 2 1 1 1 2 0
Total Score 19 15 9 9 2015 16 14 19 15
Ranking 3rd 6
th 10th 9
th 1st 7th 4
th 8
th 2
nd 5
th
Open Access JSEA
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil 595
Table 5. Results of the average portal access time.
Portal Access Time Scores (0 to 3)
General Motors 10 sec 3
Volkswagen 24 sec 0
Visanet 20 sec 1
Fiat 30 s ec 0
Gol 13 sec 3
Submarino 9 sec 3
Magazine Luiza 28 sec 0
Ponto Frio 10 sec 3
Shoptime 18 sec 2
Carsale 14 sec 2
Explanation: The following rule was adopted as the scale of points: 9 to 13 s
- 3 points; 14 to 18 s - 2 points; 19 to 23 s - 1 point; 24 to 30 s - 0 point.
4.2. Comparative Analysis of the Portal
Rankings in Relation to the Placement of
Their Companies by Info Exame Info100
Only one company was ranked the same, Ponto Frio. In
the case of Submarino there was a difference of one posi-
tion, having a better classification-7th place-in the Info
100 [1] research and 8th position in the portal quality.
With General Motors [16], there was a difference of two
in the position. General Motors was first in the Info100-
classification while it was at 3rd place in the portal quality
ranking.
Table 6 shows the portal quality classification of the
ten best companies compared with the placement of their
respective companies in the Info100 research [1]. The
Magazine Luiza [17] had a difference in position of three
places, 4th place in portal quality and 7th place in the
Info100 best companies. Gol and Volkswagen had a po-
sition difference of four places, the former occupying the
1st place in the portal quality and 5th position in Info100
and the latter 2nd place by Info100 and 6th in portal qual-
ity. Carsale [18] had a difference of five positions, with a
5th place in portal quality and in last-10th place-in In-
fo100.
Finally, Shoptime, Fiat and Visanet had a classifica-
tion difference of six places. Shoptime reached 2nd place
in the portal quality and 9th place in Info100. Fiat ob-
tained 4th place in Info100 and 9th place in the quality of
the portal and Visanet was classified in 3rd place in In-
fo100 and 10th place in the portal quality.
5. Conclusions
The development of internet portals has been of funda-
mental importance for companies especially B2C portals
Table 6. Comparison between classification of portals and
enterprises.
Ranking Portal Quality Info100
1st Gol General Motors
2nd Shoptime Volkswagen
3rd General Motors Visanet
4th Magazine Luiza Fiat
5th Carsale Gol
6th Volkswagen Submarino
7th Submarino Magazine Luiza
8th Ponto Frio Ponto Frio
9th Fiat Shoptime
10th Visanet Carsale
which have been making great strides for e-commerce
related organizations. According to the estimates of the
Organization for Cooperation and Economic Develop-
ment, MCT [11], the transactions among companies
(B2B) and between companies and consumers (B2C) will
be responsible for about 5% of all the wholesale and re-
tail operations in 2005. The most conservative forecasts
indicate annual growth rates, for the near future, of over
45% on a worldwide scale.
Therefore, the e-commerce mode of commercial activ-
ity has become a fundamental consumer contact channel
for organizations in search of a competitive differential.
In this sense, the adaptation of the electronic portal,
which is the means of entrance and contact with the vir-
tual market, to the demands of the virtual consumer, is
fundamental. However, with the evaluation conducted in
this article, the question is raised that maybe virtual en-
trepreneurs are not paying enough attention to portal
quality, because there is no correlation between portal
quality and the importan ce of web sites. Won’t it be nec-
essary for the entrepreneurs to seek a perfect agreement
among portal quality, business strategy and the virtual
consumer satisfaction in order to obtain success in e-
business?
A form of obtaining of this synergy is the submission
of the e-commerce portals to qualitative analysis of the
measurements of their quality criteria. One modality is
presented in this work, which compiles eight criteria for
the evaluation of B2C e-commerce po rtal quality starting
from a collection of criteria used by research institutes
specialized in evaluations of e-business, such as: I-Best,
Opinia, E-bit, and others, that later are analyzed and
compiled into a single criterion.
The criteria of accessibility, web design, communica-
tion tools, products and/or marketed services, ease of
Open Access JSEA
Quality Criteria for B2C E-Commerce Websites in Brazil
596
purchase, additional information, navigation and of pri-
vacy and handling policies, are the characteristic pa-
rameters defined in this research, and make the evalua-
tion of the e-commerce portal quality possible. In order
to measure them, a survey and identification of some
parameters and concepts was first undertaken and in a
second piece of research, they were submitted for use by
virtual consumers for the measurement of the portal
quality, scientifically validating th em.
However, the comparative analysis of the ten best e-
commerce portals according to the research of INFO100,
Info Exame (2005), through the criteria proposed in this
research shows that in spite of the lack of knowledge of
the criteria adopted by INFO100, there can be their dis-
creet convergence with the criteria adopted in this study,
because there is a convergence of results with the Ponto
Frio case. This fact shows that the criteria used in this
study can be useful in the analysis of the B2C e-com-
merce portal quality. Entrepreneurs would be able to
submit their portals, via these eight criteria, so that the
quality of their portals can be measured.
REFERENCES
[1] INFO100, “Magazine Survey InfoExame,” Vol. 230, No.
20, 2005.
[2] CIETEC-USP, “Research of Internet Trends in Brazil,”
2005. www.e-commerce.org.br
[3] IBOPE-Brazilian Institute of Research and Statistics.
Internet expansion in Brazil, 2005.
http://www.ibope.com.br
[4] ESTADÃO, “Technology,” 2005.
http://www.estadao.com.br/rss/tecnologia/
[5] FGV-EAESP-Escolda of Business Administration from
Fundação Getúlio Vargas in Sao Paulo, “Research on
Electronic Commerce in the Brazilian Market,” 2004.
www.eaesp.fgvsp.br
[6] A. L. Albertin, “Ecommerce: Model, Aspects and Contri-
butions of Your Application,” 6th Edition, Atlas, Sao
Paulo, 2010.
[7] F. Alexandrini, “Company Profile in the Practice of
E-Commerce: Electronic Marketing,” M.S. Thesis, Fed-
eral University of Santa Catarina, Floranópolis, 2000.
[8] P. O. Drucker, “Best of Peter Drucker: Man, Management,
Society,” Nobel, Sao Paulo, 2002.
[9] J. C. Contador, “Model for Increasing Industrial Com-
petitiveness,” Edgard Blücher, Sao Paulo, 1996.
[10] K. O. Hammond, “Ecommerce by 2010,” HSM Manage-
ment, Barueri, Vol. 6, No. 31, 2002, pp. 39-46.
[11] MCT, “Electronic Commerce,” 2005.
www.mct.gov.br/Temas/info/Imprensa/Comercio_Eletron
ico.htm
[12] D. Felipini, “Electronic Commerce,” 2005.
http://www.e-commerce.org.br
[13] R. Mckenna, “Real Time Marketing,” In: Creating Value
in the Network Economy. The Harvard Business Review
Book Series, Harvard Business School Press, Boston,
1999.
[14] GOL, 2005. http://www.voegol.com.br
[15] FIAT, 2005. http://www.fiat.com.br
[16] General Motors, 2005. http://www.chevrolet.com.br
[17] Magazine Luiz, 2005. http://www.magazineluiza.com.br
[18] Carsale, 2005. http://www.carsale.com.br
Open Access JSEA