AN EYE-FIXATION ANALYSIS OF CHOICE PROCESSES FOR CONSUMER NONDURABLES

The nature of the choice process for commonly purchased nondurables wa s examined by tracking eye fixations in a laboratory simulation of sup ermarket shelving. The observed process contains three stages that wer e interpreted as (1) orientation, (2) evaluation, and (3) verification . Orientation consisted of an overview of the product display, althoug h some initial screening out of alternatives also occurred. The evalua tion stage, the longest by far, was dominated by direct comparisons be tween two or three alternative products. The last stage, devoted to ve rification of the tentatively chosen brand-size, mainly examined alter natives with few or no previous fixations. Greater familiarity with a product category led to a choice process that was shorter and that foc used on fewer alternatives, but these effects were confined to the eva luation stage. The findings are fully compatible with the general view that the choice process is constructed to adapt to the immediate purc hase environment.