Effect of age factor on demand and preference forteak furniture by general consumers

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to clarify general consumer's awareness and preference for teak furniture and to present a suitable marketing strategy. To accomplish the objectives, we conducted a questionnaire survey in Bangkok and Udon Thani city in 2013. There were no significant differences in the purchasing behavior between Bangkok general consumers and those in Udon Thani. Respondents who were highly interested in teak furniture tended to own teak furniture in their house already, and they were comparatively senior (older than 41 years old). Respondents who thought that teak was the most suitable material when purchasing furniture tended to pay attention to the origin of the wood and purchase ecofriendly products in daily life. On the other hand, compared to elderly consumers, young consumers, such as those under 40 years old, were not interested in teak furniture. Based on the findings of the questionnaire survey, we classified general consumers’ preferences for teak furniture into three types (“first choice”, “comparison /selection”, and “exclusion”).

Furthermore, we examined the characteristics of “comparison/selection” consumers who considered teak as one of their choices through a second questionnaire survey in Bangkok in 2014. They tended to select woods (other than teak) and wood-based materials as alternative materials for teak. They obtained information from shops, through the Internet, and by word-of-mouth. They needed information on the characteristics of materials, the production area of ​​teak, and the legitimacy of wood materials.

We concluded that differences in consumers’ preferences, which were caused by their age or experience of purchasing teak furniture, should be considered when developing sales strategies according to the type of each consumer.