Eye-Tracking Information Processing in Choice-Based Conjoint Analysis

Choice models are a common tool in market research for quantifying the influence of product attributes on consumer decisions. Process tracing techniques, on the other hand, try to answer the question of how people process information and make decisions in choice tasks. This paper suggests a combination of both approaches for in-depth investigations of consumer decision processes in preference measurement by means of choice-based conjoint (CBC) analysis. We discuss different process tracing techniques and propose an attribute-specific strategy measure for the analysis of CBC results. In our empirical study we eye-track respondents evaluating CBC choice tasks for single-cup coffee brewers. On the basis of several hypotheses we illustrate the benefits of simultaneously recording eye-tracking information for market research. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]