The persuasive power of pathos in e-commerce Web design: a new area for research

In a matter of months, we have witnessed the meteoric rise and fall of e-commerce. Now that the dust is settling it is time to examine how some companies are succeeding where others have failed. I suggest that good Web design is vital to e-business and that pathos (emotional appeal) plays a key role in a design's persuasive power. Advertisers have long understood this concept. As e-commerce attempts to revolutionize the business world, let class rhetoric serve as the theoretical foundation for a new and exciting area of research.