TL;DR

Results prove that unmasked passwords were unexpected by participants and when forced upon them a mixed result is gained. Some appreciate the usability benefits, whilst others believe there is an error on the site. This causes them to lose trust in the buying process.

However when participants are offered the choice of masked or unmasked passwords within the interface, participants identified the concept as a feature not an error. Participants identified the usability benefits of clear text passwords and the security benefits of masked passwords. When participants used this option, there was no impact to trust in the e-commerce website.