Links
Consumer Search
Structural search models are models of consumer demand that treat consumers’ information as incomplete; they model the shopping process in addition to the choice process.
Surveys & Frameworks
- Roberts & Lattin (1997) Consideration: Review of Research and Prospects for Future Insights [link]
- Honka et al. (2019) Chapter 4 - Empirical search and consideration sets [link]
- Gavazza & Lizzeri (2021) Chapter 6 - Frictions in product markets [link]
- Ursu et al. (2024) The sequential search model: A framework for empirical research [link]
- Honka et al. (2024) Consumer search: What can we learn from pre-purchase data? [link]
- Hauser & Wernerfelt (1990) An Evaluation Cost Model of Consideration Sets [link]
- Roberts & Lattin (1991) Development and Testing of a Model of Consideration Set Composition [link]
Theory Foundations
- Stigler (1961) The Economics of Information [link]
- McCall (1970) Economics of Information and Job Search [link]
- Diamond (1971) A model of price adjustment [link]
- Salop & Stiglitz (1977) Bargains and Ripoffs: A Model of Monopolistically Competitive Price Dispersion [link]
- Weitzman (1979) Optimal Search for the Best Alternative [link]
- Sorensen (2000) Equilibrium Price Dispersion in Retail Markets for Prescription Drugs [link]
- Wolinsky (1986) True Monopolistic Competition as a Result of Imperfect Information [link]
- Bar-Isaac et al. (2012) Search, Design, and Market Structure [link]
- Armstrong (2017) Ordered Consumer Search [link]
- Haan et al. (2018) A model of directed consumer search [link]
- Choi et al. (2018) Consumer Search and Price Competition [link]
Simultaneous / Fixed-Sample Search
Sequential Search
- Kim et al. (2010) Online Demand Under Limited Consumer Search [link]
- Koulayev (2014) Search for differentiated products: identification and estimation [link]
- Chen & Yao (2017) Sequential Search with Refinement: Model and Application with Click-Stream Data [link]
- Kim et al. (2017) The Probit Choice Model Under Sequential Search with an Application to Online Retailing [link]
- Ursu et al. (2020) Search Duration [link]
- Morozov et al. (2021) Estimation of Preference Heterogeneity in Markets with Costly Search [link]
- Ursu et al. (2023) Search Gaps and Consumer Fatigue [link]
Which Protocol? Identifying the Search Method
- Honka & Chintagunta (2017) Simultaneous or Sequential? Search Strategies in the U.S. Auto Insurance Industry [link]
- Bronnenberg et al. (2016) Zooming In on Choice: How Do Consumers Search for Cameras Online? [link]
- De Los Santos et al. (2012) Testing Models of Consumer Search Using Data on Web Browsing and Purchasing Behavior [link]
Rankings & Platform Design
- Ghose et al. (2012) Designing Ranking Systems for Hotels on Travel Search Engines by Mining User-Generated and Crowdsourced Content [link]
- Ursu (2018) The Power of Rankings: Quantifying the Effect of Rankings on Online Consumer Search and Purchase Decisions [link]
- De Los Santos & Koulayev (2017) Optimizing Click-Through in Online Rankings with Endogenous Search Refinement [link]
- Yoganarasimhan (2020) Search Personalization Using Machine Learning [link]
Applications & Measurement
- Mehta et al. (2003) Price Uncertainty and Consumer Search: A Structural Model of Consideration Set Formation [link]
- Goeree (2008) Limited Information and Advertising in the U.S. Personal Computer Industry [link]
- Seiler (2013) The impact of search costs on consumer behavior: A dynamic approach [link]
- Honka et al. (2017) Advertising, consumer awareness, and choice: evidence from the U.S. banking industry [link]
- Yavorsky et al. (2021) Consumer search in the U.S. auto industry: The role of dealership visits [link]
- Haviv (2022) Consumer Search, Price Promotions, and Counter-Cyclic Pricing [link]
- Moraga-González et al. (2023) Consumer Search and Prices in the Automobile Market [link]
- Natan (2025) Choice Frictions in Large Assortments [link]
- Zettelmeyer et al. (2006) How the Internet Lowers Prices: Evidence from Matched Survey and Automobile Transaction Data [link]
- Sorensen (2000) Equilibrium Price Dispersion in Retail Markets for Prescription Drugs [link]
- Hortacsu & Syverson (2004) Product Differentiation, Search Costs, and Competition in the Mutual Fund Industry: A Case Study of S&P 500 Index Funds [link]
- Brown & Goolsbee (2002) Does the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry [link]