Classification of Goal-Directed Search and Exploratory Search Using Mobile Eye-Tracking

In this paper, we investigate the visual attention of consumers with the help of mobile eye-tracking technology. We explore attentional differences between goal-directed search and exploratory search used when consumers are purchasing a product at the point-of-sale. The aim of this study is to classify these two search processes based solely on the consumersâ eye movements. Using data from a field experiment in a supermarket, we build a model that learns about consumersâ attentional processes and makes predictions about the search process they used. Our results show that we can correctly classify the search processes used with an accuracy of nearly 70 after just the first nine seconds of the search. Later on in the search process, the accuracy of the classification can reach up to 77.

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