Explores Consumer Preferences Research Articles

Multichannel personalization: Identifying consumer preferences for product recommendations in advertisements across different media channels

Nowadays, many retailers use personalization in advertising to increase customers’ awareness and interest in their offers. Product recommendations are a common form of personalization used in various communication channels. However, previous studies have focussed on particular design aspects of product recommendations on a retailer’s website, without considering other communication channels. Therefore, this study examines the ideal design of personalized product recommendations in advertisements from a consumer’s perspective by relying on a choice-based conjoint experiment in the apparel industry. The findings of two studies for young male (n = 170) and female (n = 162) consumers show that the advertising channel is the most important attribute for determining the participant’s intentions to adopt the respective product recommendations, followed by the number of recommendations. While banner advertising is the least preferred channel for both samples, males prefer smaller recommendation sets than females. In addition to exploring consumer preferences, the reasons for rejecting the advertisements are also analysed. Finally, design recommendations for advertisers and retailers regarding personalized product recommendations are derived.

Heterogeneous preferences with respect to food preparation time: Foodies and quickies

Time scarcity is an important driver for food choices. Despite this, little research has been conducted on the preferences of consumers and their willingness to pay for reduced food preparation times. We have explored consumer preferences with respect to saving time in cooking, using a payment card technique with an online survey on a sample of German (486 in number) and Italian (494) consumers. Our findings differ from those of other studies on the same context of daily duties, such as commuting, which note a general willingness to pay for time-saving. Indeed, latent class analysis shows three segments: the ‘quickies’, who are willing to pay a premium for saving time; the ‘foodies’, who receive utility in cooking; and the ‘indifferent’, for whom the time needed to prepare meals is not a choice factor. Profiling within our sample indicates that Italians, young people, and large families show a higher willingness to pay for saving time in cooking. Consumer heterogeneity calls on convenience food producers for targeted marketing strategies to create value, from product development to communication and distribution.

Preferences for housing attributes in Saudi Arabia: A comparison between consumers' and property practitioners' views

Due to rapid urbanisation, population growth and limited supply of housing, the housing sector in Saudi Arabia is facing significant challenges. There have been attempts to provide large-scale housing projects to combat this issue. However, there are concerns that short-term policies to provide large quantities of housing can result in low-quality units which are underside by consumers. Therefore, understanding consumer preferences with regard to housing is crucially important if housing projects are to be successful in the long term. This paper explores consumer preferences for housing attributes in Saudi Arabia and compares these against the views of property professionals. Data was gathered via quantitative surveys from 752 housing consumers and 101 property practitioners from across Saudi Arabia. Descriptive analysis and the Mann-Whitney U test are used to determine the mean importance of the housing attributes and to compare the findings from each group. The results of the study provide an analysis on the importance of various housing attributes and highlights similarities and disparities in opinions. The analysis found significant differences between consumers' and property practitioners' views on what consumers believe are important housing attributes. Given this lack of alignment, the findings should offer housing providers with a better understanding of consumer preferences in the Saudi Arabia context.

Is Tajikistan a Potential Market for Genetically Modified Potatoes?

Consumer perception and willingness to pay for genetically modified foods have been extensively studied in recent years. However, until so far there is little empirical evidence for genetically modified food acceptance among Central Asian consumers. This article contributes to existing literature in this field by exploring consumers’ acceptance and willingness to pay for genetically modified potatoes in Tajikistan. A dichotomous-choice contingent valuation methodology is used as a primary empirical tool. The data was collected in a major city of Tajikistan. The results indicate that more than half of survey participants are not aware of genetically modified potatoes. Yet, the majority of consumers expressed a positive or neutral opinion about this particular product and for two-third of respondents no risks are associated with genetically modified potatoes. These results highlight that Tajik consumers seem to be less risk-averse towards genetically modified food than consumers in Europe. This study explores consumer preferences for genetically modified potatoes in Tajikistan. A contingent valuation method is applied to measure consumers’ willingness to pay for this particular genetically modified product based upon socio-demographic variables as well as predictors related to individuals’ attitudes and perceptions. Findings of the paper show the relevance and possibility to introduce and market nonconventional potato in a Central Asian market of Tajikistan.

Aflatoxins and Health Considerations in Consumer Food Choices in Ghana

Abstract Food safety enjoys sustained attention among the scientific community, policymakers, and the general public due to health impacts. However, pursuing appropriate regulations for pervasive food contaminants is a challenging policy issue, particularly for naturally-occurring food toxins such as aflatoxins and other mycotoxins. This paper explores consumer preferences for quality aflatoxin-free peanuts, and how food safety concerns may impact willingness to pay more for safer foods. Incorporating ‘risky’ foods into random utility-maximization framework, we analyze contingent valuation survey data on Ghana. Model and survey results show consumers in Ghana approve of food aflatoxin regulations, and are prepared to pay price premiums as incentives to ensure supply of quality peanuts. Findings reveal that consumers prioritize food safety above prices in market decisions. People prefer introduction of aflatoxin regulations that would guarantee good health; useful information for policy makers in Ghana, Africa, and rest of the developing world.

Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade.

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild-sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in-person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64-742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3-3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long-term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation-demand-focused initiatives. Lack of data from long-term social-ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.

Preferences of Chinese consumers for the attributes of fresh produce portfolios in an e-commerce environment

PurposeIn recent years, fresh produce (fresh vegetables and fruit) has been circulated widely via e-commerce in Chinese large cities in the form of fresh produce portfolios (FPPs). The purpose of this paper is to analyze the preferences of Chinese consumers for specific FPP attributes.Design/methodology/approachA choice experiment approach was used to explore consumer preferences. The authors conducted a means-end-chains evaluation to select the attributes for the choice experiment. The authors used a fractional factorial design and finally obtained 18 choice scenarios. The authors collected 166 effective consumer questionnaires in Beijing.FindingsThe authors found that among the four attributes considered, certification and the diversity of the FPP had significant effects on the willingness to pay (WTP) among consumers. Residents had heterogeneous preferences for FPP diversity and certification, but certification was the major concern when considering fresh produce in the FPP. With regard to the WTP for attributes in the portfolio, the WTP values for “green” and “organic” attributes were high, but the WTP for the diversity of FPPs was low.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to explore the preferences of Chinese consumers regarding the attributes of FPP in an e-commerce environment.

Future Market of Pizza: Which Attributes Do They Matter?

Pizza is eaten all over the world because of its simplicity and taste. Given its importance in the Italian diet, this paper provides a qualitative insight into fresh pizza consumption for the first time. This study deals with the perception of pizza attributes in Italy focusing on the main drivers of consumer acceptance of the traditional Margherita pizza, and analyzing in addition consumers’ preferences for novel types of pizza in the marketplace, such as those made with organic, low calorie or frozen ingredients. The results show how respondents firstly prefer to eat traditional pizza and mainly prefer organic ingredients leading Italian consumers to perceive them more positively than conventional ones. Furthermore, despite the frozen pizza market being fairly well-established in many countries, the study finds a strong propensity to buying fresh pizza in the traditional market. The role of low calorie pizzas appears to be limited despite consumers being quite interested in this type of product. The novelty of this paper is to fill the knowledge gap about new typologies of pizza available in the marketplace, by exploring consumer preferences for and perceptions of a traditionally made product in a traditional producer country. The study will also offer managerial-oriented implications to help pizza producers develop new strategies for better identifying the ongoing demand of pizza consumers both for traditional and new typologies.

The Market Study of UHT Milk in the Albania

During the past years we perceive major changes as regards the dairy sector, as well as the production also in the economy, encouraged by the integration processed and globalization to global proportions and the increasingly large customer, for due to changing lifestyles, which puts major producers in the major trials, requiring changes in the production, marketing of the product to marketing milk. Also it should be noted and the presence of high agro-food products imported into the domestic market, often with high prices and a quality not verified gives rise to several questions: Why the market of Albania reacts in such a way, though imported products, are often preferred by consumers Albanians and trade in general. This study explores consumer preferences for dairy product and has defined the types of customers based on preferences and socio-demographic factors. Based on the interview that we have done, we managed to point out the consumer approaches for milk product, and the values that wil convey at this product to the Albanian consumers.

Consumer Impacts for the Milk Production in Albania (Descriptive Analysis)

As milk is a very important component of the Albanians diet, this study explores consumer preferences for milk in Albania and also tries to determine consumers types based on their preferences and socio-demographic factors. To reach these objectives, this study designed a conjoint choice experiment survey and collected primary data in the most populated cities of Albania. The milk industry and its marketers may benefit from this information by using it to strategically market their milk to different groups. A sample size of 200 questionnaires are realized with dairy consumers in two important areas, mainly Tirana and Durres. Is considered on appropriate size to ensure data safes and reliables for attributed milk analysis. Interviews were mainly taken from occasional consumers. Tirana and Durresi are two most populated cities, were selected for the study the ours sample, because we thought that in these two cities is more concentrated the large power purchasing. For conducting, this study consulted a wide literature which considered studies and comparative data for the consumption milk in Albania. The study is conducted mainly in two major cities in Albania, Tirana and Durresi. The selection of sample is randomly. The main objectives of this study are the identification and evaluation of customer preferences based on different attributes of milk, and evaluation of the willingness to pay by the customer depending socio-economic features. Another objective is also the dairy market survey and analysis of trends over the years. Dairy Market segmentation in customer classes based on their preferences towards product and measuring the impact of socio-demographic variables in consumer willingness to buy milk product. These constitute key objectives of our scientific paper which helped us to highlight and meet the desires and preferences of consumers interviewed. METHODOLOGY The study (the sample), is localized in two most populated cities in Albania, Durres and Tirana. The basis of the study was the accumulations data, obtained from the realization of directly at the consumers of milk. In this study, the realization of the questionnaire and data processing are realized in the period March 2015 to February 2016. The average time duration of the interview with a customer was 15 to 25 minutes. During the interview, customers, are taken in consideration, all the questions of our questionnaire ranging from gender, age, birthplace, residence, income ... etc, through random selection of our sample. During processing and data entry into the program, it was found that 200 respondents (except one of them) to both areas of Tirana and Durres, sportsmanship and fun answered questions asked by our questionnaire.

Exploring consumer preferences towards electric vehicles: The influence of consumer innovativeness

The diffusion of electric vehicles (EVs) is regarded as an important aspect of government policy which aims to generate a transition to a low-carbon mobility system in the United Kingdom and the wider European context. This paper investigates consumer demand for EVs by examining the influence of consumer innovativeness alongside attitudes concerning the functional capabilities of EVs over EV preferences. A conceptual framework is developed and applied which includes measurements of innovativeness at both an adoptive level, through an assessment of technology ownership, and at an innate level, by measuring a cohort of psychological and sociological factors. Additionally, the framework incorporates measurements of attitudes towards the functional performance of EVs to determine their effect on preferences. Data has been collected through the application of a self-completion household survey distributed over the cities of Dundee and Newcastle upon Tyne in the United Kingdom. Results of the analysis indicate that adoptive innovativeness and attitudes concerning the functional performance of EVs significantly affect preferences for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

Exploring consumer preferences in cloud archiving – a student's perspective

Cloud storage has seen an increasing rise in demand and diffusion. Consequently, the cloud storage market is also becoming an increasingly commoditised market. That is, homogenous products are offered at equal prices, and this offer makes it more difficult for cloud storage providers to generate revenue and differentiate themselves from their competitors. Therefore, it is vital for providers to precisely understand customer preferences so that these can be targeted with appropriate services. To examine these preferences, we conduct a choice experiment and analyse choice decisions gathered from 340 German students by means of a conjoint analysis. We perform an individual-level analysis of preferences, which reveals significant differences and heterogeneity within the sample. By using a subsequent cluster analysis, we identify three distinct customer segments that also show significant differences in, for example, the perceptions of information privacy and risks. Our findings contribute to the literature by uncovering the preference structure and trade-offs that users make in their choice of storage services when employed for the purpose of archiving. We conclude the study with a discussion of practical implications that can aid cloud storage providers in service design decisions, and highlight the limitations associated with our research approach and drawn sample.

Spatially Varying Impacts of Farmers Markets on Agricultural Land Use

Forming part of the worldwide locavore movement, farmers markets have attracted a considerable number of citizens in recent years. While previous studies have extensively explored consumer preferences for this form of direct marketing, few have paid close attention to their effect on agricultural producers’ behaviour. Using a dataset from Chiba Prefecture in Japan’s eastern region where the locavore movement is highly active, we investigate changes to cropping patterns, particularly from grain production to vegetable production, when new farmers markets are established in producers’ neighbourhoods. At the same time, we attempt to identify the degree of spatial diversity of such land use shifts, based on the conjecture that the magnitude of the impact depends greatly on the area’s biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. To achieve these dual goals, we introduce a novel combination of geographically weighted regression with difference-in-differences analysis so that the coefficient of interest, or the treatment effect, can be estimated individually for each observation within the sample. The results show that at the sample median, the opening of a new farmers market increases the proportion of vegetable farms in its neighbourhood by 0.8 percentage points, although this effect can be as large as 5.2 percentage points in certain areas within Chiba Prefecture. The ability to geographically differentiate high-impact areas from low-impact areas could contribute to efficient policy design, and hence, reduction in public expenditure.

Injection of Flavor Essences into Fruit Pieces: A New Approach for Exploring Consumer Preferences for Novel Flavors of Apple Fruit

Abstract The identification of flavor-impact compounds and potential new flavors could be assessed by incorporation of naturally occurring volatiles into juices or pulps. However, juices and pulps are not realistic representations of whole fruit, as texture plays a dominant role in consumer perception of fruit quality and affects flavor release. For this reason, the possibility of injecting flavor essences directly into pieces of fruit was explored as a model system to study consumer perceptions and preferences for novel fruit flavors. Small volumes (1 μL) of flavor essences (“tropical,” “smoked salmon,” “chocolate” and “apple”) were injected into cubes of apple tissue. Fifty-two consumers were asked how much they liked apples with these flavors before and after tasting. Liking, certainty of response and consumption intention were collected using a 9-point category scale. The study demonstrated that the injection of essences into pieces of apple tissue was a useful model for exploring consumer preferences for novel flavors and provided a good indication of what it would be like eating a whole apple with that flavor. Practical Applications Traditional breeding for perennial fruit crops requires investment over many years, with a substantial lag between the start of a crossing program and the delivery of a product into the marketplace. The current research highlights a new sensory approach that will contribute to the effectiveness of fruit breeding programs by providing clear targets for enhanced and novel flavors early in the product development cycle.

Household Consumption of Dairy Products - An Analysis of Consumer Behavior in Albania

Household consumption of dairy products is one the major component in the total sales of the Albanian dairy industry. Therefore, understanding the factors which may significantly influence household consumption is important in the planning of farmers, processors and manufacturers. Consumers' responses to changes in price and non-price factors are basic to an economic analysis of almost all the policy decisions related to industry or government programs. Forecasting the future direction of household consumption, and how that direction might be modified through industry efforts or by national programs and policies, requires information on the relationships among prices, incomes, household characteristics and consumer demand. This study focuses on households as consuming units, explains and analyzes their purchasing behavior for dairy products. As milk is a very important component of the Albanians diet, this study explores consumer preferences for milk in Albania and also tries to determine consumers profiles based on their preferences and socio-demographic factors. To reach these objectives, this research designed a conjoint choice experiment survey and collected primary data in the most populated cities of Albania. This study provides useful information to different stakeholders including milk producers and importers. The milk industry and its marketers may benefit from this information by using it to strategically market their milk to different groups. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n9p104

A cross‐cultural segmentation of western Balkan consumers: focus on preferences toward traditional fresh cow cheese

Western Balkan countries (WBCs) have a long-standing culinary tradition. The promotion of traditional foods may be a tool for coping with modernisation trends in such transition economies. This paper explores consumer preferences toward food in this region, focusing on a traditional fresh cow cheese locally called 'Mladi Sir'. This product was quoted in all the preliminary focus groups as a common traditional product present in the six WBCs studied: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. After a literature review investigating the concept of traditional food in WBCs and the implementation of focus groups, a survey including a conjoint analysis on preferences for fresh cow cheese was carried out in 2011 to collect data from 1200 respondents. Four clusters of consumers were identified: one focused more on the local origin; one oriented more toward the scale of production (on-farm and small dairy); the third favouring low prices and the fourth preferring high prices and industrial products. Policy makers and the supply chain could take these differences in consumer preferences regarding traditional food products into account in order to develop specific strategies.

Consumer Preferences for Health and Nonhealth Outcomes of Health Promotion: Results from a Discrete Choice Experiment

ObjectiveHealth promotion (HP) interventions have outcomes that go beyond health. Such broader nonhealth outcomes are usually neglected in economic evaluation studies. To allow for their consideration, insights are needed into the types of nonhealth outcomes that HP interventions produce and their relative importance compared with health outcomes. This study explored consumer preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes of HP in the context of lifestyle behavior change. MethodsA discrete choice experiment was conducted among participants in a lifestyle intervention (n = 132) and controls (n = 141). Respondents made 16 binary choices between situations that can be experienced after lifestyle behavior change. The situations were described by 10 attributes: future health state value, start point of future health state, life expectancy, clothing size above ideal, days with sufficient relaxation, endurance, experienced control over lifestyle choices, lifestyle improvement of partner and/or children, monetary cost per month, and time cost per week. ResultsWith the exception of “time cost per week” and “start point of future health state,” all attributes significantly determined consumer choices. Thus, both health and nonhealth outcomes affected consumer choice. Marginal rates of substitution between the price attribute and the other attributes revealed that the attributes “endurance,” “days with sufficient relaxation,” and “future health state value” had the greatest impact on consumer choices. The “life expectancy” attribute had a relatively low impact and for increases of less than 3 years, respondents were not willing to trade. ConclusionsHealth outcomes and nonhealth outcomes of lifestyle behavior change were both important to consumers in this study. Decision makers should respond to consumer preferences and consider nonhealth outcomes when deciding about HP interventions.

Consumer preferences regarding food‐related risk‐benefit messages

Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify and explore consumer preferences and information needs regarding the simultaneous communication of risks and benefits associated with food consumption. The focus is on the net health impact of risks and benefits on life expectancy, quality of life, and disability adjusted life years (DALYs).

Understanding Consumer Preferences in the Context of Managed Competition

In many countries, health insurance coverage is the primary way for individuals to access care. Governments can support access through social insurance programmes; however, after a certain period, governments struggle to achieve universal coverage. Evidence suggests that complex individual behaviour may play a role. Using a choice experiment, this research explored consumer preferences for health insurance in Colombia. We also evaluated whether preferences differed across consumers with differing demographic and health status factors. A household field experiment was conducted in Bogotá in 2010. The sample consisted of 109 uninsured and 133 low-income insured individuals. Each individual evaluated 12 pair-wise comparisons of hypothetical health plans. We focused on six characteristics of health insurance: premium, out-of-pocket expenditure, chronic condition coverage, quality of care, family coverage and sick leave. A main effects orthogonal design was used to derive the 72 scenarios used in the choice experiment. Parameters were estimated using conditional logit models. Since price data were included, we estimated respondents' willingness to pay for characteristics. Consumers valued health benefits and family coverage more than other attributes. Additionally, differences in preferences can be exploited to increase coverage. The willingness to pay for benefits may partially cover the average cost of providing them. Policy makers might be able to encourage those insured via the subsidized system to enrol in the next level of the social health insurance scheme through expanding benefits to family members and expanding the level of chronic condition coverage.

Comparison of two methods to explore consumer preferences for cottage cheese

In the past 2 decades, total sales of cottage cheese have declined 17% despite increases in sales for low-fat cottage cheese. There are no recent published studies investigating consumer preferences for cottage cheese. This study was conducted to identify and define sensory characteristics of commercial cottage cheese and to compare 2 approaches for characterizing consumer preferences: traditional preference mapping and a new composite qualitative approach, qualitative multivariate analysis (QMA). A sensory language was identified to document the sensory properties (visual, flavor, and texture) of cottage cheeses. Twenty-six commercial cottage cheeses with variable fat contents (4, 2, 1, and 0% fat) were evaluated by trained panelists using the sensory language. Eight representative cottage cheeses were selected for consumer acceptance testing (n=110) and QMA with consumer home usage testing (n=12), followed by internal and external preference mapping to identify key drivers. Principal component analysis of descriptive data indicated that cottage cheeses were primarily differentiated by cooked, milkfat, diacetyl, and acetaldehyde flavors and salty taste, and by firmness, smoothness, tackiness, curd size, and adhesiveness texture attributes. Similar drivers of liking (diacetyl and milkfat flavors, smooth texture, and mouthcoating) were identified by both consumer research techniques. However, the QMA technique identified controversial distinctions among the cottage cheeses and the influence of brand and pricing. These results can be used by processors to promote cottage cheese sales.