EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR OUTDOOR ORNAMENTAL PLANTS

To cater effectively to the needs of their customers, those involved in the production, development, or marketing of ornamental plants need to be aware of the relative importance customers attach to various plant characteristics.

In the present study, plant attributes affecting consumer appreciation for ornamental plants were identified through personal interviews with garden centre customers in New Zealand.
The attributes ‘plant health’, ‘price’, ‘shape’, ‘bushiness’, ‘flower colour’, ‘leaf colour’, ‘final height’, and ‘suitability for the consumer’s garden’ were selected for further analysis.
The relative importances of these attributes, as well as selected interactions, were quantified by means of conjoint measurement.

Price, plant health, suitability for the consumer’s garden, final height, shape, bushiness, and leaf colour had a significant effect (p<0.01) on consumer preference.
The effect of a change in price level depended on the final height of the plant.
A significant interaction was also found between shape and bushiness of the plant.

Horticulture in Human life, Culture and Environment

W. Townsley-Brascamp, N.E. Marr

Conjoint measurement, Consumer preference, Marketing research, Ornamentals, Plant attributes

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1995.391.19