Types and Amounts of Information Used by Efficient Consumers

This paper describes a research methodology which assesses the efficiency of consumer decision‐making based on the types and amounts of informational cues used. A simple operational method is used to classify consumers into three levels of consumer efficiency based on how well they perform in assessing the optimal choice. The information chosen by perfectly efficient consumers, or those scoring at the maximum level of efficiency, is examined for indicators of optimal information seeking and decision‐making techniques.