Consumer preferences for price, color harmony and level of care information of container gardens

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.