We use Nelson’s classification
as a starting point because it is the original and
most widely used classification of search and experience
goods and because Nelson validated it using a variety of
secondary data sets.
We selected three types of search goods
(Nelson 1970, p. 325)—shoes, home furniture, and garden
and patio implements—and three types of experience goods
(Nelson 1974, p. 738–39)—automotive parts and accessories,
health and beauty products, and camera equipment.
We selected these products for four reasons. First, they are
among the few in the ComScore product classification
scheme that exactly match those in Nelson’s original classification
of search and experience goods (see Nelson 1970,
Table 2; Nelson 1974, Table 1). Second, they were