Based on a literature review encompassing 87 quality academic sources, 37 design rules were
extracted. These design rules were part of the e-servicescape factor “aesthetic appeal”, “layout and
functionality” or “financial security” and subsequently coupled to one or more of the consumer
decision making stages part of this research: search for information, evaluation of alternatives and
choice / purchase. Next, 13 semi-structured interviews were held with employees at a web shop
operator focussed on web shops of large retailers and brands in order to validate the model. This
resulted in the updating of 7 design rules and the adding of 10 additional design rules. Given that the
interviews were held at a single company, generalizability of the model is somewhat limited and
requires future research. The final model is depicted at the end of the main text of this thesis.