The consumer decision-making process
can be usefully divided into at least three phases:
information gathering, decision making, and
economic exchange. Each of these phases is a
complex activity that has been extensively studied,
but here the focus is on using data warehouse
technology to fill voids in information gathering and
decision making. Some of the earliest studies of
commercial Internet activity found that “gathering
purchase-related information was the most preferred
Web activity” [1] and continues to be an important
business-to-consumer e-commerce focus. While
there are certainly profits to be captured in the
economic exchange, the upstream information
gathering and decision making activities offer some
interesting opportunities for consumer support.
Consumers spend a great deal of time in these
phases and reveal preferences for information, as
well as decision-making models.