Consideration sets in online shopping environments: the effects of search tool and information load

This study examines the effects of two main characteristics of online shopping environments – search tool and information load – on the descriptive characteristics of consideration sets: size, dynamism, variety and preference dispersion. A controlled experiment using a simulated online store was conducted to test the hypotheses, manipulating the two factors, search tool (yes, no) and information load (high, low). The main task consisted of shopping for and purchasing a product in an online store. Results show that both information load and search tools transform the way in which consumers form their consideration sets, resulting in smaller, more stable, and more homogenous sets, integrated by more equally preferred alternatives. Interaction effects show that search tools enhance their effectiveness in high information load settings.