Consumer Search

5 Key excerpts on "Consumer Search"

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  eBook - PDF

  Consumer Behavior

  • Ayalla Ruvio, Dawn Iacobucci(Authors)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  In other words, they will engage in a prepurchase search, 10 a search that is directly related to the recognition of the need or problem, to find the optimal product or service. What information are they looking for? 1. What are their options? Consumers look for information about different ways or different brands that can address the need or problem. 2. What are the different characteristics of each option? Consumers evaluate mainly the performance and price of the different options. 3. What are the criteria that differentiate these options? Consumers consider other relevant criteria that can help them choose one option over the others. In general, there are two types of information searches. 11 The first in an internal search, which refers to the retrieval of information from long-term memory. In such cases, consumers rely on their own experience with the product or brand as a source of information. Consumers also use an external search 12 to acquire information that is beyond their direct experience with the product or brand. Consumers often conduct an external search about a prod- uct or brand even if they have previous experience with it. Today, more than ever before, consumers have access to a wide range of information sources. In searching for a new car, you might begin by looking at the manufacturers’ websites and spe- cialized car websites. You will probably watch informational YouTube videos, ask friends and family about their opinions, then stop at a dealership to get more information and experience your options firsthand. Internal and external information searches complement each other. Each of these sources provides different benefits. In the search for a new car, for example, the manufacturer’s web- site offers a breadth of information. YouTube and other online sites can provide different views and opinions about the options of the car you’re considering.

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  Consumer Behavior

  • Wayne Hoyer, Deborah J. MacInnis, Rik Pieters, , Wayne Hoyer, Deborah J. MacInnis, Rik Pieters(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  92 An increasing number of retailers and manufactur- ers are tracking consumers’ online information search and purchase patterns to provide additional assistance and recommendations. For example, consumers who rent or stream movies from Netflix are encouraged to rate them so that the site can recommend other mov- ies based on what each consumer liked and didn’t like. This is Netflix’s way of adding movies to the consider- ation set and providing more information for consumer decision-making. Consumers are buying online more frequently, mak- ing bigger purchases, and choosing a wider variety of products than they did in the early days of the Internet. Still, online marketers tend to be less successful when shoppers cannot judge the quality of a product such as a sofa (as the defunct furniture retailer Living.com found out). 93 Facilitating extended searches for even inexpen- sive items like books can boost sales significantly, as Amazon.com learned with its “LOOK INSIDE!” feature, which lets consumers read pages from individual books. When shopping for homes and other major purchases, 7-3b HOW MUCH DO WE ENGAGE IN EXTERNAL SEARCH? on examining how much information consumers acquire prior to making a judgment or decision. One of the key findings is that the degree of search activity is usually quite limited, even for purchases that are typically consid- ered important. 101 Copyright 2018 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202 CHAPTER 7 | PROBLEM R ECOGNITION AND I NFORMATION SEARCH 193 they are uncertain about a brand’s specific attribute. Consumers also search more when they are evalu- ating services rather than products because services are intangible and hence perceived as more uncer- tain. 106 Finally, consumers will have higher motiva- tion to search if the consequences are more serious, such as those entailing high financial or social risk.

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  eBook - ePub

  Review of Marketing Research

  Volume 1

  • Naresh K. Malhotra, Naresh Malhotra(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Consumer information acquisition is an important issue in consumer-behavior research. The literature we have reviewed shows that existing research in consumer direct information search captures only part of consumer information-acquisition behaviors. The purpose of this article has been to go beyond direct information search and include browsing as an integral part of consumer information-acquisition behavior. We have extended Bloch, Ridgway, and Sherrell’s (1989) concept of ongoing information search, delineated different dimensions of the searching-browsing continuum, and suggested some methods to test these issues empirically. Theoretically, this approach broadens the scope of research in consumer information search and provides a new area and methods for research. In addition, most consumer decisionmaking models conceptualize the decisionmaking process as conscious and effortful. However, research in information processing and memory has shown that a large amount of information processing could be nonconscious, and information could be stored in people’s memory systems without their awareness. Consumer browsing is an activity that may tap this implicit information processing and storage. Since consumer information acquisition is a crucial element of consumer decisionmaking, understanding consumer browsing behavior and its potential influence on consumer decisionmaking will contribute to our knowledge of consumer information acquisition as well as consumer decisionmaking.

  Methodologically, the unique characteristics of browsing impose challenges to study the phenomenon. First, compared to direct search, browsing is more casual and less structured. Such phenomena may be difficult to capture using a single method or a single study. Multiple methods may be necessary to gain insights on the multifacets of consumer browsing. Second, since some browsing activity and its potential influences may be without consumers’ awareness, carefully crafted specific tests need to be designed.

  Browsing and searching are complements to each other. Although they can be distinguished conceptually, it is hard to separate the two behaviorally because browsing and searching could operate at the same time, and/or consumers can switch smoothly back and forth from browsing to searching to browsing, even without awareness. Although the transitory and less-structured characteristic of browsing imposes difficulty on empirically capturing and analyzing the phenomena, it is worthwhile to look beyond direct search and integrate browsing into the framework of consumer information acquisition. Finally, in the context of consumer behavior, it is interesting to examine in detail how people browse, what factors influence browsing, and how browsing further influences consumer decisionmaking. These are questions to be answered in order to get a fuller picture of consumer information acquisition. Previous research on consumer shopping environments may offer valuable insights on these issues. This review has focused on browsing as an information-acquisition activity, but the broader role of browsing in consumers’ experiences in the shopping environment also deserves further exploration. In addition, since the Internet is increasingly becoming an important vehicle for consumers’ information acquisition and purchasing, searching and browsing in an online context may exhibit different characteristics than those activities in an offline context. Our review does not address this issue explicitly, and this issue deserves future examination.

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  The Handbook of Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Measurement

  • Nigel Hill, Jim Alexander(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Once a person is aware of a need it becomes a ‘drive’, so called because he or she feels driven or urged to satisfy it. Companies and organisations must therefore understand what it is that drives a consumer to choose their particular product or service rather than that of their competitors. Car purchase may, for example, satisfy a need for transportation, a need for status, or a need for excitement. Organisations use promotional and selling techniques to position their product or service in the market in such a way that it will appeal to potential customers.

  Figure 6.1

  The buying decision process of an individual purchaser

  INFORMATION SEARCH

  Once aware of a need or problem, an individual will set about solving it. Sometimes a problem is solved immediately: hunger is felt and a biscuit may be eaten. Sometimes the problem is more complex and the individual has to seek out information to help him or her solve it (see Figure 6.2 ).

  The first source of information most people turn to is memory. If you need a new exhaust for your car, your first thought will almost certainly be towards the solution of this problem the last time it arose. Who fitted the new exhaust? Was it all right? Was the service efficient? Was it reasonably priced? If your memory is favourable, that may be the end of it. You may skip the evaluation stage and make the decision to return to the same supplier as last time.

  There is a major implication in this for customer satisfaction measurement. An individual’s memory is often not a particularly reliable guide to what actually happened and subjective perceptions of events are usually not overburdened with the need to conform to reality. We often remember those things we choose to remember. In particular, we tend to remember bad, as opposed to good, experiences more vividly and for longer.

  Figure 6.2

  Problem solving: the search for information

  But the individual customer will be quite happy with all this: his or her perception of events is reality and has to become reality for any supplier trying to sell goods or services to that individual. Often, however, the information search will be more lengthy. You may not be entirely satisfied that the information stored in your memory is enough to enable you to make the best decision regarding your car exhaust. If this is the case, you will turn to external sources of information: you might ask for prices from two or three different suppliers.

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  MBA Marketing

  • Malcolm McDonald, Ailsa Kolsaker(Authors)
  • 2017(Publication Date)
  • Red Globe Press

    (Publisher)

  Typical stages in the consumer purchase decision-making process can be identified, although these will not always represent conscious actions in the minds of consumers. It is the task of marketing research (see Chapter 4) to make these steps explicit in order that they may be better addressed and exploited. Marketers must decide whether they favour a cognitivist or a behaviourist approach to understanding consumer buyer behaviour if they are to give clear direction to marketing activities which support consumer relation-ships, such as market research, market segmentation, branding and marketing communications. FURTHER READING Solomon, M. (2013) Consumer Behaviour: Buying, Having and Being , Harlow, Pearson. A comprehensive, yet practical guide to understanding consumer behaviour. 38 CHAPTER 2 – CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR REFERENCES Anton, C., Camarero, C. and Rodriguez, J. (2013) Usefulness, Enjoyment and Self-Image Congruence: The Adoption of e-Book Readers, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 30 (4): 372–384. Burt, S., Johansson, U. and Thelander, Å. (2011) Standardized Marketing Strategies in Retail-ing? IKEA’s Marketing Strategies in Sweden, the UK and China, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 18 (3): 183–193. Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2012) Principles of Marketing , Harlow, Prentice-Hall. Litvin, S. W., Goldsmith, R. E. and Pan, B. (2008) Electronic Word-of-Mouth in Hospitality and Tourism Management, Tourism Management , Vol. 29 (3): 458–468. Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V. and Berry, L. L. (1985) A Conceptual Model of Services Quality and its Implication for Future Research, Journal of Marketing , Vol. 49 (4): 41–50. Park, J. K., Gunn, F. and Han, S. L. (2012) Multidimensional Trust Building in e-Retailing: Cross-Cultural Differences in Trust Formation and Implications for Perceived Risk, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Vol. 19 (3): 304–312. Peter, J. and Olson, J. (2010) Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy , New York, McGraw-Hill.

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