Personalized Website by Visual Appeal - A New Trend?

Studies have shown that different generation may have different criteria for judging the visual appeal of web pages. The study Generation Y, web design, and eye tracking, published in the International Journal of Human-Computer Studies showed that Generation Y (age 18-31 in the U.S.) prefers web pages that include a main large image, images of celebrities, little text, and a search feature.

http://users.wpi.edu/~djamasbi/2008-Djamasbi%20et%20al-AMCIS.pdf

Marketers and online retailers targeting this particular demographics should attempt to design their website with a main large image that takes up at least 40% of the web page, images of celebrities endorsers, large main text and an easily located search box. Detailed text and lists should be hidden from view unless a user clicks to a link or hovers over the particular function. A large static list of products with images and text should not appear on the main page. Instead features that include rotating images and scrolling features should be used to display larger images of products and allow the shopper to scroll through them. Actual lists should only be accessed through clicking on a link.
This study also highlight the limitless possibilities for the next level of website personalization by visual appeal and layout. Amazon.com is one of the recognized online retail leader in creating personalized shopping web page by recommended products, previous purchases, and browsing history. The use of personalized website by visual appeal and feature would further enhance the level of customization and provide a more visually appealing website for each user based on demographic and personal data. The web page would then be configured to fit the profile of each user - including more text and reviews for shoppers that may be more inclined to read specs and do research, less text for younger generation, quick visual graphically product comparison instead of a side by side technical spec comparison and more larger images for Generation Y. The web page visual design would evolve based on the click tracking and features used by each individual shopper. The next level of web page customization could be just around the corner.