What is the term for the effort required to locate a suitable product?

Search costs refer to the effort, time, and resources that consumers must invest to find a suitable product that meets their needs. This concept is essential in understanding consumer behavior and market dynamics. When consumers are faced with multiple options, they often need to spend time and effort gathering information on the products available, comparing prices, features, and quality.

This effort can include looking up information online, visiting stores, or asking others for recommendations. The greater the number of choices or the more complex the decision, the higher the search costs tend to be. Understanding search costs is crucial for businesses as well; it highlights the importance of making their products accessible and clear to potential customers, thereby reducing search costs and encouraging purchases.

In contrast, price discrimination refers to charging different prices to different consumers for the same product, menu costs relate to the costs associated with changing prices, and transparency costs involve the effort needed to understand the terms and conditions or prices of a product. These concepts do not directly pertain to the effort involved in locating a suitable product.