Exploring consumers’ serendipitous experiences in online marketplaces: characteristics, development route and factors influencing it

This research aims to explore and understand the nature of serendipity within online marketplaces (i.e. e-commerce serendipity). The motivation for setting this aim stems from a recognised misalignment between the practical applications and theoretical explorations of e-commerce serendipity.

E-commerce consumers and practitioners acknowledge the practical value of serendipity. However, they lack a strong theoretical foundation to fully benefit from this phenomenon. In contrast, serendipity- focused studies, especially within information science, have not focused on e-commerce serendipity before and doubted the feasibility of consciously design serendipity. Thus, these studies have resulted in insufficient theoretical support for consumers and practitioners.

To bridge the gap between theory and practice, this research adopts a participant-centric narrative approach. This approach aims to contribute to creating more consumer-friendly online marketplaces and to deepen the understanding of serendipity. Participants were prioritised as the main contributors, sharing their experiences and perceptions of e-commerce serendipity through storytelling. Thirty-two Chinese online consumers took part in the research, contributing a total of 123 real-life stories. All these stories were collaboratively analysed with the participants, ensuring a faithful portrayal of e-commerce serendipity as experienced by the consumers themselves.

The findings reveal that e-commerce serendipity is an artificially facilitated unplanned experience, jointly shaped by consumers and online platforms along with their designers. Being an artificial serendipity, e-commerce serendipity is characterised by its expectedness, thrillingness, and varied outcomes. Three routes were presented for consumers to experience e-commerce serendipity: coincidence, unexpected discovery, encountering. These routes differed via the varying interaction patterns between serendipitists and third parties under different conditions. The findings regarding e- commerce serendipity as a form of artificial serendipity have significant implications for both research and practice.

Theoretically, this research contributes to serendipity-focused studies, particularly in the field of information science. It enhances the current understanding of serendipity and suggests that serendipity- focused research should embrace the concept of serendipity by design. This involves expanding beyond the narrow research scope and definitions that currently dominate the research context, offering a broader and more inclusive perspective.

Practically, this thesis contributes to the fostering of mutually beneficial artificial serendipity in online marketplaces. This involves e-commerce practitioners listening attentively to consumers’ voices and for consumers to enhance their digital literacy.

Beyond these directly related areas, the research further contributes to Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) studies due to its choice of research context. It provides insights into how better to design recommender systems and create a harmonious online ecosystem.