AUTHOR
Phillips Huuva, Johanna; Sannerborg, Katrin

DATE
2003-04-10

DEPARTMENT
Business Administration and Social Sciences / Industrial Marketing

SUMMARY
An important aspect of consumer behavior in electronic environments is the search habits consumers adopt when gathering information before making a purchase decision. Very little research has been conducted within this area and therefore, the aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of how consumers search for product information online. More specifically, this study further explores the factors that influence consumers in their product search activity online, as well as the preferred search tools and search habits utilized. In addition, the problems associated with product information search online, and the potential shortcuts employed, were points of focus. The empirical data was gathered through three focus group interviews with students from three different areas of the world, namely, Asia, Europe, and North America. The findings and conclusions of this study indicated that there are several factors that influence consumer search activity online. In addition, a few different preferred search tools used for product information search online were detected, as well as, a few different problems associated with searching on the Internet. Finally, it was found that information seekers utilize mental shortcuts in order to reduce the amount of information searched online.

ISSN 1404-5508 / ISRN LTU-SHU-EX--03/154--SE / NR 2003:154