There is consensus among researchers that information is a critical economic commodity in market operations. In particular, consumers search and gather information with a purpose to optimise their decisions and choices, and thereby maximise their consumption utility. Consumer information search behaviour for goods has been extensively and robustly studied before. By contrast, research in consumer search for services remains relatively less explored, despite previous research indicating: i. a measurable distinction between goods and services; ii. that consumers perceive services to be riskier than goods; iii. that consumers engage different search strategies when searching for services as compared to goods; iv. a large and considerable contribution of the services sector to the global economy. Consumer debt and bankruptcy rates have grown dramatically in recent decades. While the literature is replete with studies directed at explaining market factors attributable to the observed trends in personal finances, there is limited research in consumer credit search. Also, despite anecdotal evidence suggesting that data smog affects consumer search behaviour, no research has been conducted to determine the effect of data smog on consumer search activity in an integrated approach. Further, the influence of different sources of financial information on consumer credit decisions is not fully understood. It was the objective of this study to contribute towards a better understanding of consumer credit search and the influence of different financial information sources on consumer credit decisions. To this end, this study proposed and tested comprehensive structural models of consumer credit search that incorporated both psychological and economic factors. Also, the proposed models explored the role of data smog as a search determinant. The proposed models posited that Consumer Credit Search was directly influenced by the factors of Perceived Financial Risk, Perceived Data Smog, Prior Memory Structure, Prior Credit Knowledge and Perceived Search Benefit, and indirectly influenced by Perceived Search Cost. Further, the study investigated the antecedents of Perceived Data Smog. In separate models, the study examined the perceived distinct influences of three different Financial Information Intermediaries on consumer credit decisions.

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