Online shopping has developed rapidly over the past couple of decades and gradually became a mainstream shopping experience. The implemented shopping platforms are continuously optimized by the platform providers, using various means to provide more effective operations and interactions between the buying customers and the vendors who are selling their products. My PhD typically observes three main stakeholders in online shopping environments: the customers (i.e., buyers of goods), providers of products (manufacturiers or distributeurs), and the shopping platform that enables the value exchange between the two.

My PhD research will be conducted in close collaboration with one of the largest online shopping company in China — JD.com. The objective of the research is to explore how analysis of product reviews, combined with the analysis of content on Social Network Services (SNS) could increase the value of the shopping platform (SP). Specifically, we want to explore how the presentation of information from reviews can

• Help consumers make better decisions about their purchases
• Help manufacturers improve their products and market targeting. Those shopping platforms that provide assistance to buyers and sellers are expected to gain trust and popularity. Thus, we aim to conduct research to explore opportunities for innovative services. In particular we will
• Take into account the inter-relationship between customers, product providers, and the shopping platform
• Exploit diverse information within the platform (the product descriptions, the marketing material, and the user reviews) and integrate alternative resources (professional reviews, product announcements, and social network opinions) Design, implement, and evaluate services that increase the value to all the parties in the ecosystem: the informed decision by consumers, the improved products by the manufacturers, and the increased sales on the shopping platform.

References

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