Behavioral Effects of Using Software Agents for Product and Merchant Brokering: An Experimental Study of Consumer Decision-Making

Agent technology has been applied to design new services simplifying product and merchant brokering in several consumer industries. The term “shopbots” is generally used to characterize these services. It is proposed that shopbots will reduce consumer search costs and make consumer buying behavior more rational. Based upon a decision making model, we propose twelve hypotheses of the effects of using shopbots on consumer buying behavior. The hypotheses are tested in an experimental study of consumers choosing a financial service provider. We find strong support for the hypotheses of change in information search behavior, but only partial support for the hypothesis of change in choice behavior. Further, we find no evidence of differences at the problem recognition and judgment stages of the buying process between consumers using shopbots and other consumers.