Abstract

Environmental regulations and restrictions have increased the need for new treatments of wood for outdoor residential use. Further, new tastes and the growing importance of do-it-yourself retailing have initiated a need for more knowledge in the industry about end-consumer preferences for outdoor wooden products. In this study consumer preferences for different types of outdoor decking were analyzed using the conjoint analysis approach. The results indicate that environmental certification is an important product attribute for many customers, together with price and type of treatment. Service and ready-to-assemble products are of low importance. Significant preference differences between customer subgroups were identified. Conjoint part-worth values were also used to distinguish three consumer segments. Finally, the utilization of the conjoint results for simulation of market shares dynamics for hypothetical products is demonstrated.

Keywords

conjoint analysis; marketing; consumer choice; market segmentation; market shares

Published in

Wood and Fiber Science
2008, volume: 40, number: 3, pages: 436-447
Publisher: SOC WOOD SCI TECHNOL

Authors' information