Click‐Click‐Add – Product Search Strategies in Online Shopping

ABSTRACT People shopping online often abandon their shopping sessions because they feel overwhelmed or insufficiently supported during product searches. We instructed 31 participants to perform two goal‐directed product searches online, simulating real‐world scenarios for two product types: search products (laptops) and experience products (jackets). Through observation and think‐aloud protocols, we captured user behavior across browser tabs and online resources, enabling us to develop a novel annotation scheme for product search that captures resources used, views seen, and actions taken. Qualitative analysis of these annotated sessions revealed nine distinct product search strategies, which participants often combined and applied at different stages of their search sessions. For each strategy, we describe similarities and differences between search and experience products and identify common strategy combinations across product types. Finally, by mapping these findings to established information‐seeking models, we offer insights that can inform the design of more effective and supportive e‐commerce platforms.