This dissertation focuses on online search as a measure of consumer interest. Internet use is at an all-time high in the United States, and according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 91% of Internet users use search engines to find information.Consumers' choices of search terms are not well understood. However, we argue that people will focus their searches on terms that are of interest to them. As such, data on the search terms used can provide valuable measures and indicators of consumer interest in a market. This can be particularly valuable to managers in search of tools to gauge potential product interest in a new product launch. In this research, we develop a model of pre-launch search activity. We find search term usage to follow rather predictable patterns in the pre-launch and post-launch periods. As such, we extend our pre-launch search model to link pre-release search behavior to releaseweek sales -providing a very valuable forecasting tool. We illustrate this approach in the context of motion pictures. Our modeling framework links search activity to sales and incorporates product characteristics. Our results indicate consistent patterns of search over time and systematic relationships between search volume, sales, and product attributes. We extend our model by studying the role of advertising. This allows us to better understand the relationship between advertising and online search activity and also allows us to compare the forecasting performances of each of the two approaches. We find that search data offers significant forecasting power in opening-weekend box-office revenues. We further find that advertising, combined with search data, offers improved forecasting ability.

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The Internet has significantly impacted the information search behavior of consumers. Many consumers regularly consult Internet sources for information on product categories, brands, manufacturers, and retailers, particularly when making a purchase decision about major durable goods. Automobiles are one example of such goods. The Internet has become a major source for information on automobile brands, attributes, and dealers. While much research has been done on the impact of the Internet on automobile information search behavior and search costs, there is limited work on the relationship between Internet use and the ultimate automobile choice. This type of relationship may have interesting managerial implications for both manufacturers of automobiles and firms that provide information on automobiles. This paper attempts to address this gap. It examines whether Internet use is associated with different choice patterns for automobiles. Using discrete choice analysis on automobile choice data, we explore whether there will be differences in the salience of specific information types for online versus offline consumers. We find that Internet users rely more on ratings while non-Internet users rely more on recommendations when making automobile choices. Our findings have several useful managerial implications for information provision, both online and offline.

PurposeThe Covid-19 pandemic and the related closures and lockdowns have changed how consumers shop for products and how they consume them. In this paper, the authors focus on how customers' journeys from the awareness stage down to purchase and loyalty stages have been impacted by the pandemic across different product categories and markets and how they affect the same post-pandemic. The authors propose directions for future research based on our analysis.Design/methodology/approachAnalyzing the components of customer utility, the authors provide the basis for the rapid shift towards online and digital touchpoints and the nature of emerging interactions between firms and consumers. The authors highlight those areas where changes could be permanent.FindingsThe authors show why some of the changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic could be permanent and irrevocable and what this implies for firms' strategies to acquire, retain, and grow their business with their customers.Originality/valueThe authors highlight why omnichannel strategies are the way for firms to thrive in the post-pandemic marketplace, and outline areas for future research that will allow researchers to examine how customer journeys will evolve post-pandemic.

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