Maximizing vs. Satisficing: How Do Consumers Choose?

This paper adds to the debate on whether consumers are in fact utility maximizers or satisficers by estimating two structurally comparable models on the same data set. Based on Stüttgen et al.’s (2012) satisficing model, we develop a structurally comparable model based on the utility maximizing framework. Both models not only model final choice, but also the information acquisition process. We find that (in the category studied) less than 10% of the participants seem to be utility maximizers. This has important implications for how effectively marketers can affect consumer choice through visual aspects of the product.