Customer preferences for customized household furniture

Published Date
Journal of Forest Economics
April 2012, Vol.18(2):94–112, doi:10.1016/j.jfe.2011.11.001

• Author 

• Torsten Lihra ^a,,
• Urs Buehlmann ^b,
• Raoul Graf ^c,

• aValue Added Products, FPInnovations, Québec, Canada G1P 4R4
• bVirginia Tech, Brooks Forest Products Center, Mail Code 0503, 1650 Ramble Road, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
• cMarketing Department, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada H3C 3P8

Received 24 March 2011. Accepted 6 November 2011. Available online 2 January 2012.

Abstract

In the context of market globalization, furniture manufacturers attempt to differentiate their products to attain competitive advantages. Mass customization is one strategy enabling such differentiation. This study measured, through a choice-based conjoint analysis, the value that US American consumers assign to the availability of customization when buying furniture. Roughly 50% of consumers’ product choice is driven by price, 20% by product customization, 20% by delivery time, and 10% by the time needed to customize the product. Thus, while there is a customer segment driven by price, there also is a segment, consisting mainly of females, that values product customization.

JEL classification

M11

M3

L73

Keywords

Mass customization

Furniture

Conjoint analysis

Consumer preference

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.

Copyright © 2011 Department of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå. Published by Elsevier GmbH All rights reserved.

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1104689911000730