Consumer search for information in the digital age: An empirical study of prepurchase search for automobiles

This research explores whether earlier findings on the economics of consumer information search still hold in the digital age. Through an Internet-based survey conducted with automobile shoppers and purchasers, we examine how individuals differ in the use of the Internet and in the patterns of substitution they exhibit across sources and media. Survey results show that basic economics continues to drive information search in general, measured in terms of amount (time) and breadth (number of sources). However, analysis of consumers’ information search behavior suggests that an additional dimension of search—whether the source is offline or online—needs to be added to the traditional two dimensions of impersonal/personal and independent/seller-dominated sources. We also analyze trends in the use of the Internet as an information source based on recency of respondents’ shopping experiences.