Curation subscription box services: Implications for the pet industry

Abstract

With the recent surge of the subscription eCommerce industry, this study aims to identify the key attributes and features that customers favor in curation subscription box services, and to segment customer groups by the importance weights of attributes in the context of pet related curation subscription box services. Grounded in the attribute-based model of satisfaction, this study adopts conjoint research design and analysis to explore how consumers assess and prioritize attributes when evaluating curation subscription box services. Drawing on data gathered from a conjoint survey of 350 pet owners in the United States, the study reveals that customers place the highest importance on the attributes of price, product, and personalization when making choices of curation subscription box services. Furthermore, the study identifies three distinct customer segments based on their attribute preferences: those who prioritize the product, those who value personalization most, and those who prioritize price. Additionally, this study employs a conjoint market simulator to propose the most optimized set of offerings in a pet subscription box. The findings have significant implications for the development of curation subscription box services and underscore the importance of aligning the subscription box services business model with customer needs and preferences.