"A nicely designed, interesting, and user friendly web site makes all the difference to your shopper, this may make or break your online store."

Remember the "First Impression" rule.

The Importance of Good Store Design
A recent report published by Web design firm Questus found that having a good web site design will benefit your online business. Their survey polled 425 employed US residents over the age of 18. When listing factors that influenced their decision to purchase from a particular store, a number of those factors were design-based. Looking Trustworthy
Based on the survey, Questus found that the majority of shoppers felt web site appearance affected the amount of trust they had in the online merchant. Shoppers generally make their decision to shop at a site within the first few seconds of their visit, so it's important to make a strong first impression. 

Getting Around
Ease of navigation and checking out were other factors that determined whether or not shoppers would purchase from an online store. In fact, the survey showed that site navigation (37%) and the checkout process (32%) were almost as important as the product descriptions or even shipping options when it came time to decide.

Miva Merchant