The impact of product assortment size and attribute quantity on information searches

Date

2017

Authors

Dornyei, K.R.
Krystallis, A.
Chrysochou, P.

Editors

Advisors

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Type:

Journal article

Citation

Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2017; 34(3):191-201

Statement of Responsibility

Conference Name

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to investigate the impact of assortment size and attribute quantity on the depth and content of consumer information searches. Design/methodology/approach - For a computer-aided experiment using an information display board, participants (n = 393) were placed in a simulated shopping situation that involved choosing a product among three sets of frequently purchased, low-involvement, FMCG alternatives Findings - The findings show that when the assortment size increases, consumers acquire information from more products and cues but sacrifice product attributes. In particular, this sacrifice comes at the expense of secondary product attributes (e.g. nutrition information, country of origin), whereas primary product attributes (e.g. brand name, price) remain constant. Attribute quantity does not have a significant effect on information search Originality/value - Information searches are measured by means of three different variables (searched cues, searched products and searched attributes), which enable a more complex exploration of the consumer information search process

School/Discipline

Dissertation Note

Provenance

Description

Access Status

Rights

Copyright 2017 Emerald Publishing Access Condition Notes: Post print available on open access

License

Grant ID

Call number

Persistent link to this record