scholarly journals Capturing Consumer Preferences and Interests in Developing a State Plant Promotional Program

HortScience ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 574-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca H. Wehry ◽  
Kathleen M. Kelley ◽  
Robert D. Berghage ◽  
James C. Sellmer

Two separate studies using intercept survey methodology were conducted to define the components of a state plant promotional program—Pennsylvania Gardener Selects (PGS)—based on consumer preference and appeal. The first study, conducted 6 and 7 Mar. 2003 at the Philadelphia Flower Show in Philadelphia, Pa., involved 243 Pennsylvanians. Objectives were to define current gardening-related shopping habits, sources of gardening information, motives and limitations for pursuing gardening, and history of purchasing other Pennsylvania products. Responses were analyzed using cluster analysis to identify consumer–gardener segments that would potentially purchase PGS plants. Three distinct consumer segments were generated: “Novice Gardeners” (consumers with limited experience in gardening), “Casual Gardeners” (consumers with limited confidence in their gardening knowledge), and “Avid Gardeners” (consumers who express great interest in gardening). “Avid Gardeners” exhibited a greater level of interest in purchasing plants evaluated for Pennsylvania (average response, 6.5; based on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is very unlikely and 7 is very likely), with 73% indicating that they had purchased Pennsylvania products; hence, they were a potential market for PGS plants. The second study, conducted 8 to 10 Mar. 2004 at the Philadelphia Flower Show involved 250 Pennsylvanians. Objectives for this study were to define consumer brand and product preferences, including container colors for the PGS program, plant tag style/color, and retail price (based on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is very unlikely to purchase and 7 is very likely to purchase), as well as brand attributes these consumers valued. Responses were analyzed using conjoint analysis. Participants awarded the highest utilities to the white container with a black-and-white PGS logo (0.1149), keystone-shaped tag with color image and PGS logo (0.1099), and a retail price of $1.98 (0.4751). Spearman's rho was used to identify relationships among existing and related brand attributes. Correlations between participants’ response to brand attributes, including locally grown, ideal for local conditions, quality assurance, and independent testing program, as well as plant guarantee and publication with gardening tips, suggest that promotional materials should emphasize and include these qualities. Results from these studies indicate that there is interest in a state plant promotional program for Pennsylvania. To use resources wisely, consumers classified as “Avid Gardeners” would be the most appropriate to target first. To attract consumer attention and encourage purchasing at a retail outlet, containers and plant tags should have distinctive colors, and brand attributes and resulting consumer benefits should be emphasized on promotional materials.

Author(s):  
Tadeusz Trzaskalik ◽  
Piotr Namieciński ◽  
Andrzej Bajdak ◽  
Slawomir Jarek

Introducing a new product to the market is a complex, costly and time-consuming process which requires research on consumer preferences. On the basis of information on the characteristics of the new product and its competitors, as well as on the competitors and their market shares, the company has to estimate future market shares and to determine the profile of potential consumers inclined to purchase the new product. The purpose of our paper is to present a method of consumer preference research when introducing a new product, using a multiple criteria method called Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA). To apply this method, no information requiring tedious research is needed. SMAA allows to obtain essential information on the potential market power of the new product already at an early stage of its preparation. Furthermore, the flexibility of the SMAA method allows to easily expand the scope of the analysis by including additional information and various techniques of the modeling of the consumer selection process.


2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Phillips ◽  
E. Jay Holcomb ◽  
Kathleen Kelley

Three intercept surveys were conducted at the Southeast Research and Extension Center in Landisville, Pa., at three separate field days during the period of 28 July to 4 Aug. 2004 to determine grower (n = 78), retailer/landscaper (n = 52), and consumer (n = 55) interest in annual planters. Survey participants were self-selected and asked to answer questions evaluating their preferences and past experience with annual planters. Consumer participants also evaluated planters based on flower-color harmony, container style, and price on a scale of 1 to 7 (1 = very unlikely to purchase, 7 = very likely to purchase) and answered sociographic and demographic questions. Container evaluations were analyzed using conjoint analysis to determine consumer preferences. Price was found to be the most important factor, accounting for 43.1% of the decision to purchase an annual planter. No significance was found comparing the lowest ($19.98) and middle ($29.98) prices; however, both were significantly more preferred than the highest price point ($39.98). Color harmony was the next most important factor, accounting for 34.9% of the decision to purchase followed by container style (22.0%). When asked what they would pay, on average, for the containers on display, consumer participants responded with a price of $25.68. A majority of retail/landscape participants in this study had never sold annual planters within their company (75.0%), whereas a majority of grower participants had produced annual planters in the past (75.0%). Retailer/landscape participants also indicated that they would charge their customers an average retail price of $31.67, which was 14% less than the growers’ suggested average retail price of $36.83 based on the $21.68 wholesale price they assigned.


Author(s):  
Eunae Son ◽  
Song Soo Lim

Food made with gene-editing has received considerable attention in recent years because it is claimed to be a little different from traditional genetically modified breeding methods concerning safety. However, consumer acceptance of these novel foods and their potential market uptake remains to be answered. This study aims to assess differences in the acceptance of gene-edited and genetically modified foods in Korea. The choice-based conjoint analysis is adopted to estimate part-worth functions for the soybean oil attributes with 200 surveyed samples. The estimated part-worth values reveal how much each attribute affects consumers’ decision-making. Estimated results suggest that consumers tend to accept gene-editing more than genetically modified foods. The acceptance of novel technology is shown to correspond closely to the degree of consumers’ scientific knowledge, highlighting the importance of revealing relevant information regarding the technology. Results also show that country of origin is a significant food-specific attitudinal factor in shaping consumer preferences.


Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2258
Author(s):  
Madhab Raj Joshi ◽  
Lewis Nkenyereye ◽  
Gyanendra Prasad Joshi ◽  
S. M. Riazul Islam ◽  
Mohammad Abdullah-Al-Wadud ◽  
...  

Enhancement of Cultural Heritage such as historical images is very crucial to safeguard the diversity of cultures. Automated colorization of black and white images has been subject to extensive research through computer vision and machine learning techniques. Our research addresses the problem of generating a plausible colored photograph of ancient, historically black, and white images of Nepal using deep learning techniques without direct human intervention. Motivated by the recent success of deep learning techniques in image processing, a feed-forward, deep Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) in combination with Inception- ResnetV2 is being trained by sets of sample images using back-propagation to recognize the pattern in RGB and grayscale values. The trained neural network is then used to predict two a* and b* chroma channels given grayscale, L channel of test images. CNN vividly colorizes images with the help of the fusion layer accounting for local features as well as global features. Two objective functions, namely, Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), are employed for objective quality assessment between the estimated color image and its ground truth. The model is trained on the dataset created by ourselves with 1.2 K historical images comprised of old and ancient photographs of Nepal, each having 256 × 256 resolution. The loss i.e., MSE, PSNR, and accuracy of the model are found to be 6.08%, 34.65 dB, and 75.23%, respectively. Other than presenting the training results, the public acceptance or subjective validation of the generated images is assessed by means of a user study where the model shows 41.71% of naturalness while evaluating colorization results.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3432
Author(s):  
McKenzie Thomas ◽  
Kimberly L. Jensen ◽  
Dayton M. Lambert ◽  
Burton C. English ◽  
Christopher D. Clark ◽  
...  

Biochar is a co-product of advanced biofuels production from feedstocks including food, agricultural, wood wastes, or dedicated energy crops. Markets for soil amendments using biochar are emerging, but little is known about consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for these products or the depth of the products’ market potential for this product. This research provides WTP estimates for potting mix amended with 25% biochar, conditioned on consumer demographics and attitudes about product information labeling. Data were collected with an online survey of 577 Tennessee home gardeners. WTP was elicited through a referendum contingent valuation. Consumer WTP for an 8.81 L bag of 25% biochar potting mix is $8.52; a premium of $3.53 over conventional potting mix. Demographics and attitudes toward biofuels and the environment influence WTP. Biochar amounts demanded are projected for the study area’s potential market. Optimal prices, profits, and market shares are estimated across different marginal costs of producing biochar potting mix.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2658
Author(s):  
Rose Nankya ◽  
John W. Mulumba ◽  
Hannington Lwandasa ◽  
Moses Matovu ◽  
Brian Isabirye ◽  
...  

The cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the most widely consumed legumes globally due to its nutrient content, taste, and affordability. Nutrient composition and consumer preference were determined for twenty local farmer (landrace) and commercial peanut varieties grown in the Nakaseke and Nakasongola districts of the central wooded savanna of Uganda through sensory and laboratory evaluation. Significant differences in nutrient content (p < 0.05) among peanut varieties were found within and across sites. A significant relationship between nutrient content and consumer preference for varieties within and across sites was also realized (Wilk’s lambda = 0.05, p = 0.00). The differences in nutrient content influenced key organoleptic characteristics, including taste, crunchiness, appearance, and soup aroma, which contributed to why consumers may prefer certain varieties to others. Gender differences in variety selection were significantly related to consumer preference for the crunchiness of roasted peanut varieties (F = 5.7, p = 0.016). The results imply that selecting different varieties of peanuts enables consumers to receive different nutrient amounts, while experiencing variety uniqueness. The promotion of peanut intraspecific diversity is crucial for improved nutrition, organoleptic appreciation and the livelihood of those engaged in peanut value chains, especially for the actors who specialize in different peanut products. The conservation of peanut diversity will ensure that the present and future generations benefit from the nutritional content and organoleptic enjoyment that is linked to unique peanut varieties.


2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Sylcott ◽  
Jeremy J. Michalek ◽  
Jonathan Cagan

In conjoint analysis, interaction effects characterize how preference for the level of one product attribute is dependent on the level of another attribute. When interaction effects are negligible, a main effects fractional factorial experimental design can be used to reduce data requirements and survey cost. This is particularly important when the presence of many parameters or levels makes full factorial designs intractable. However, if interaction effects are relevant, main effects design can create biased estimates and lead to erroneous conclusions. This work investigates consumer preference interactions in the nontraditional context of visual choice-based conjoint analysis, where the conjoint attributes are parameters that define a product's shape. Although many conjoint studies assume interaction effects to be negligible, they may play a larger role for shape parameters. The role of interaction effects is explored in two visual conjoint case studies. The results suggest that interactions can be either negligible or dominant in visual conjoint, depending on consumer preferences. Generally, we suggest using randomized designs to avoid any bias resulting from the presence of interaction effects.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 118-122
Author(s):  
A.K. Ostrom ◽  
C.C. Pasian

This manuscript describes the effect of controlled-release, and water-soluble fertilizers on the growth and quality of New Guinea impatiens (NGI) (Impatiens hawkeri Bull.). Three different fertilizers were applied at three rates each in order to investigate their effect on growth and quality of ‘Paradise New Red.’ NGI. Fertilizer treatments included 1) a 20-4.4-16.6 water-soluble fertilizer (WSF), 2) a 10-1.8-2.5 soybean-based fertilizer (SBF), and 3) a 15-4-10, three-to four-month longevity controlled-release fertilizer (CRF). CRF was applied as a pre-plant at 1×, 0.75×, and 0.5× the label rate. WSF and SBF fertigation rates of 75, 150, and 250 mg·L−1 N (75, 150, and 250 ppm N), respectively, were used based on a common range of fertigation rates in a greenhouse setting from what is considered relatively low, moderate, and high for NGI production. Plants were irrigated or fertigated by hand every 1 to 5 days as needed, based on environmental conditions and plant size, with either approximately 300 mL (10.4 oz) of either tap water or a fertilizer solution. SPAD readings, above ground plant weight, consumer preference ratings, and cumulative flower number were measured and used to calculate a quality index (QI). Optimal fertilizer rates as determined by the QI were found to be 1) CRF at 7.11 kg·m−3 (11.8 lb·yd−3), 2) SBF at 150 mg·L−1 (150 ppm) N, and 3) WSF at 75 mg·L−1 (75 ppm) N. With the application method used in this work, the WSF was more efficient than the SBF because it produced high quality plants with less fertilizer applied. While for the most part overall consumer preference ratings coincided with plant dry weight, there were some exceptions, indicating that consumers can prefer plants that are not necessary the largest as indicated by their dry weights. Consumer preferences may not coincide with typical plant parameters of plant growth all the time. Consumer preferences should be always considered in an industry that sell its products based mainly on their appearance.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helviani Helviani ◽  
Sitti Aida Adha Taridala ◽  
Azhar Bafadal ◽  
Budiyanto Budiyanto

Sago is a potential source of food with high calories and carbohydrates (rice equivalent). Sago consumer preferences can provide important information in making marketing strategy sago, and also is one of the indicators of market demand for the products of sago. The purpose of this study were to understand the srage of the purchase decision process undertaken by consumers of sago; analyze the level of customer satisfaction with sago attributes associated from sago; and analyze the consumer preference for various atrributes inherent in sago. The study was conducted in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi Province. Respondents were all members of a population of 21 respondents consisting of 15 restaurant owners who provide meals made from sago and 6 owners agro-industry made from raw sago. The study used Engel Model Analysis, Costumer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Analysis, and Conjoint Analysis. The results of the analysis gives an overview of some consumer behavior based on the decision-making process shows that the benefits sought in the purchase buy sago sago is as a raw material to be processed into a menu of traditional food and traditional cakes Kendari. Color sago is the main thing, which will be seen and considered by consumers to make purchases between and will buy sago in traditional markets as close to the place of business. The level of consumer satisfaction in this study were satisfied with the preference category that consumers like sago with normal color (pure white), normal scent (odorless), low prices and package sizes are 20 kg. The resulting combination of sago four attributes (color, flavor, price and package sizes) is acceptable to describe consumers' desire sago in Kendari. Keywords: consumer behavior; sago; Engel Model; Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI); conjoint analysis


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