Search in service of choice: An agenda for comparing, extending, and integrating consumer search models

Understanding consumer search behavior is crucial for businesses and policymakers seeking to design effective product offerings and interventions. Consumer search behavior is a key topic in marketing, economics, and psychology. Across fields, distinct research traditions have emerged, each with its own foundational assumptions and data requirements. Some of these differences stem from conflicting assumptions (e.g., search is Bayesian optimal vs heuristic) while others arise from contextual factors (e.g., search in a visual space vs search in memory). This article proposes an agenda for comparing and extending models of consumer search to support practitioners and researchers in selecting, applying, and refining these models. Ultimately, this may contribute to a more integrated understanding of consumer search. We review five prominent theoretical models, each with distinct terminologies. For each model, we review its background, aims, core assumptions, and provide illustrative examples. Our contribution is twofold: (1) we initiate a synthesis aimed at resolving terminological differences and propose an agenda for model comparison, extension, and integration; and (2) we identify opportunities for future research to advance a more comprehensive understanding of consumer search and choice.