Dimensional hierarchy of retail website quality

This study used Loiacono’s WebQual™ scale to examine the dimensional hierarchy of the quality of apparel websites. A total of 273 female online apparel shoppers responded to a mail survey. We compared five alternative models proposing relationships among 12 dimensions of website quality. The results supported our hypothesis that website quality for sites selling apparel products was conceptualized as a 12-dimensional construct rather than as a general construct. Our results did not support Loiacono’s five-dimensional second-order factor structure or our proposed six-dimensional second-order factor structure.