Consumers engage in information search to evaluate and make choices about products. There are different types of information search such as prepurchase search when actively looking to solve a problem and post-purchase search after a choice is made. Consumers may search internally using memory or externally using sources like personal contacts, advertising, and reviews. The level of search depends on factors like involvement, risk, and costs. Consumers evaluate alternatives using decision rules that can be compensatory, weighing all attributes, or non-compensatory, with strict cutoffs. Marketers aim to influence the search process and criteria used by consumers.

1. Information
Search and
Evaluation

2. Information Search
• Information collected by
consumers is the basis for
evaluation and choice
behavior.
• It is important for
marketers to know:
• Why consumers are
searching for information
• Where will they look
• What information consumers
seek
• How extensively they are
willing to search

3. Types of Information
Search
• Prepurchase search:
• Directed searches: consumer searches for information that will
help solve a specific problem.
• Browsing: consumer is “just looking” with no immediate intent to
buy.
• Accidental search: consumer is not actively looking for
information, but takes note of information that is formally
presented or inadvertently encountered.
• Post-purchase search: gathering information on choice
made after the purchase.
• Ongoing search: continuous information gathering to stay
“marketplace-current.”

4. Why Do Consumers
Engage in External
Information Search?
• High perceived value versus perceived cost of search
• Need to acquire information
• Ease of acquiring and using information
• Confidence in decision-making ability
• Locus of control (internals vs. externals)
• Actual or perceived risk
• Costs of external search
• Types of products sought
• Characteristics of the purchase decision

5. Nature of Consumer
Information
• Consumer seek information about products and service
during purchase decision making process.
• There are various types of information available to
consumer and they try to gather the information through
different sources.
• Consumer Search may be:
• Active Search
• Passive Search

6. Active Search
• Consumer initiate active search when they have a problem to
solve.
• Information-gathering process by a consumer interested in
purchasing something but lacking adequate information to
make a purchase decision.
• The consumer will actively seek out magazine and newspaper
articles and advertisements as well as expert opinions and
other sources to collect the needed information, rather than just
be exposed to the information by accident.
• The consumer who is engaged in an active search process is
highly receptive to advertising messages.

7. Contd…
• It is directed towards solving the problem with appropriate
product or service. They are mostly divided into two types:
• Internal Search: It happens in case of low involvement products
purchased in routine response behavior. The customer relies on
past information and experiences to develop brand preferences
about products.
• External Search: It is related with past experience or individual
experience or the customer. It’s source may be:
• Personal Source: Family
• Market Source: A d
• Public Source: TV
• Experiential Source: Hoarding

8. Internal and External
Information Search
• Internal search: search based on existing
information in memory.
• Information quantity, quality, relevance, currency
• Experts vs. novices
• External search: the search of information
beyond one’s memory.
• Personal sources: friends, experts, salespeople
• Impersonal sources: advertising, in-store displays,
trade reports, the Internet.
• Experts vs. novices

9. Passive Search
• Also known as ongoing search.
• It is independent of a problem or need.
• Consumers go through a variety of information to meet or
satisfy their curiosity.
• Customer may look into the information of the product
without the need for it.

10. Why Do Consumers Engage in
External Information Search?
• High perceived value versus perceived cost of search
• Need to acquire information
• Ease of acquiring and using information
• Confidence in decision-making ability
• Locus of control (internals vs. externals)
• Actual or perceived risk
• Costs of external search
• Types of products sought
• Characteristics of the purchase decision

11. Costs of External Search
• Financial
• Time
• Decision delay
(opportunity cost)
• Physical cost
• Psychological cost
• Information overload

12. Sources of Consumer
Information
• Product Testing Organization: Test of product and
services for quality and benefits.
• Media Sources: Consumer access a range of media
sources offering consumer information. Eg: Magazine,
television network, radio, internet
• Consumer Unions: Receive information when unions
raise voice on important issues relating to product or
services of the firm.

13. Contd…
• Government Agencies: Among the most reliable sources
of information. Food and Quality, Ministry of commerce
provide reliable and relevant information as and when
required. Federal trade commission where formed to
prevent fraud deception and unfair trade practices.
• Business Sources
• Product Labelling
• Customer Service Department
• Business Bueau
• Personal Contact

14. 14-14
Factors that Increase the Level of Pre-
purchase Search
• Consumer Factors: Higher search when:
• Consumers are well-educated, have higher income levels
and are younger
• Consumers are low in dogmatism and risk perception
• Level of involvement is high
• Shopping is seen as an enjoyable activity

15. 14-15
Evaluation of Alternatives – Types
of Consumer Choice Processes
• Affective choices
• More holistic; an overall evaluation
• based on how one feels about a purchase
• Attribute-based choices
• Have pre-determined evaluative criteria
• May require both external and internal search
• Complicated decision rules may be used

16. 14-16
Nature of Evaluative
Criteria
• Can be tangible or intangible
• Include surrogate indicators
• Attributes that are used as indicators of another attribute
• Are often ranked in order of importance

17. Copyright © 2006 Pearson
Education Canada Inc.
14-17
Consumer Decision Rules
• Procedures used by consumers to facilitate brand or other
consumption-related choices

18. Copyright © 2006 Pearson
Education Canada Inc.
14-18
Consumer Decision Rules
• Compensatory
• Brands evaluated in terms of each relevant criteria and the
best brand (or one with the highest score) is chosen
• Non-compensatory
• Positive evaluations do not compensate for negative
evaluations

19. Copyright © 2006 Pearson
Education Canada Inc.
14-19
Non-Compensatory
Consumer Decision Rules
• Conjunctive Decision Rule
• Product attributes are identified
• a minimally acceptable cutoff point is
established for each attribute
• brands that fall below the cutoff point on
any one attribute are eliminated from
further consideration.
• continued

20. Copyright © 2006 Pearson
Education Canada Inc.
14-20
Non-Compensatory
Consumer Decision Rules
• Disjunctive Decision Rule
• consumers identify product attributes
• establish a minimally acceptable cutoff
point for each attribute
• accept the brand that meets or exceeds
the cutoff for any one attribute
• continued

21. 14-21
Non-Compensatory Consumer Decision
Rules
• Lexicographic Decision Rule
• Product attributes are identified
• Product attributes are ranked in terms of importance
• brands are compared in terms of the attribute considered most
important
• Brand that scores highest on the first attribute is chosen
• If there is a tie, the scores on the next attribute are considered

22. Copyright © 2006 Pearson
Education Canada Inc.
14-22

23. 14-23
Issues in Alternative Evaluation
• Lifestyles as a Consumer Decision Strategy
• Incomplete Information
• Non-comparable Alternatives
• Series of Decisions
• Consumption Vision
• Mental picture of the consequences of using a particular
product

24. 14-24
Coping with Missing
Information
• Delay decision until missing information is obtained
• Ignore missing information and use available information
• Change the decision strategy to one that better
accommodates for the missing information
• Infer the missing information

25. 14-25
Information Search and
Marketing Strategy
• Get products into consumers’ evoked set
• Limit information search if your brand is the preferred
brand
• Increase information search if your alternative is not the
preferred brand
• Use point-of-purchase advertising effectively

26. 14-26
Alternative Evaluation
and Marketing Strategy
• Identify decision rule used by target market and
use suitable promotional messages
• Influence the choice of evaluative criteria
• Influence the rating of your product on evaluative
criteria used
• Use surrogate indicators effectively
• Use ‘consumption vision’

27. Methods of Minimizing Non-sampling Errors
• Checking the sampling process
• Preparation of questionnaire
• Pilot survey
• Fix procedures
• Use of competent manpower
• Provide information
• Provide training
• Use of experts
• Checking data processing and analysis