| dc.description.abstract | Retail sales of container gardens have increased dramatically in the recent past
and rose 8% from 2004 to 2005, to $1.295 billion. The objective of this study was to
determine consumer preferences for three attributes of container gardens. A Web-based
survey was conducted on 18 Oct. 2006 with 985 respondents. Survey participants invited
from an independent garden center’s customer e- mail list were asked to complete a
series of questions on a seven point Likert scale. Survey participants also answered
questions about past experiences and future purchase intentions with container gardens,
as well as demographics. A hierarchical set of levels were used to investigate three
attributes of container gardens in a 3 X 3 X 3 factorial conjoint analysis including color
harmony, price and care information level provided with the purchase. The surveys
were analyzed using conjoint analysis which accounted for 99.8% of the variance in
container garden preference. Relative importance decreased from price (70.7%), to care
information level (22.9%), to color harmony (6.4%). Survey participants preferred a
container garden with a price point of $24.99, extensive information and the
complementary color harmony. A significant portion (77.5%) of participants in this study indicated that they would be more likely to purchase a container garden if
extensive information was included with the purchase and 84.8% of participants said
they would be willing to visit a Website that would provide more information on how to
care for and maintain a container garden. Results of this study show that there is a
potential to increase the value of a container garden through providing educational
material with the purchase. | en |
