The Effects of furniture specifications on purchasing decisions according to some socio-demographic consumer characteristics

Abstract

Adaptation of the customer expectations to the product is a requirement of quality-oriented structuring. Starting from here, it is necessary to research the expectations and priorities of the customers at certain time intervals and to reflect these expectations on the product. This study aimed to determine factor priorities in purchasing furniture and effect levels of each factor on furniture purchase decisions according to some socio-demographic characteristics of consumers such as gender, marital status, age and education level in Türkiye. The questionnaire method has been used to determine the effect levels of 1–9 scale of 14 furniture specifications such as material, brand image, quality certificate, service life, safety, aesthetics, durability, etc. on furniture purchase decisions according to consumers’ characteristics. The data obtained from the questionnaire forms of 1218 individuals who participated online through Google Forms were analyzed statistically. Regardless of any socio-demographic characteristics, functionality is the most effective factor in furniture purchasing, followed by lifetime and aesthetics. Ease of assembly is the least effective factor. The furniture specifications such as quality certification, lifetime, reliability, aesthetics, size, functionality, durability, warranty and after-sales services are more effective in women's purchasing decisions than men's. The specifications of brand value, lifetime, aesthetics, size, price and ease of assembly are ineffective in the purchasing decisions of individuals from different age groups. In addition, the effect levels of the factors vary according to marital status and education level. The results obtained from this research will be useful in making managerial decisions about marketing.

1. Introduction

Quality is defined as “ability of the goods and services produced by enterprises to satisfy customers and positive and negative effects created on customers”. It includes adequacy of the functional specifications of the products produced by enterprises, as well as the perceived values and benefits it provides to customer (TSE EN ISO 9000, 2015). Other international institutions operating quality make similar definitions: American Association for Quality Control – ASQC: "All characteristics that reveal the ability of products to meet consumer demands", Japanese Industrial Standards Committee - JIS : "A production system that economically produces the products that respond to consumer requests" and European Quality Control Organization - EOQC : "level of conformity of a product to consumer's expectations " (Yeşilbayır, 2007). Based on these definitions, quality can be defined as “Consumer perception of level of satisfaction of the benefits created by product specifications ". Product specifications vary depending on whether a product is Goods or service type. While functionality, durability, reliability, aesthetics, safety, and price are the specifications of goods such as furniture, automobiles, houses etc., competence, courtesy, trust, safety and speed are the specifications of service type products such as banking, logistics, etc. If the benefits created by these product specifications are at a satisfactory level in the mind of a consumer in meeting his/her needs, that product is defined as high quality; otherwise, it is defined as poor quality.

Customer satisfaction is defined as “Suitability of the product purchased by a customer to her/his own wishes and needs”. Each customer has personal expectations about the product they will buy, and after the purchase, they make an evaluation regarding satisfaction of these expectations. As a result of this evaluation, a state of “Satisfaction” or “Dissatisfaction” occurs. Customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is not a part of goods or services, but a perception that the customer personally attributes to the goods or services. For this reason, satisfaction levels may vary when different customers encounter the same experience or service due to the emotional and cognitive components (Banar & Ekergil, 2010).

In order to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty, all units of a business should put the customer, not product, at focus, in order to fully meet the wishes and needs of current and potential customers, customers should be recognized, understood and segmented, and efforts should be made to customize products sufficiently. This understanding is called “Customer orientation” (Soysal, 2015).

In the furniture market together with other markets, as a requirement of the customer-oriented approach, many studies are conducted on purchasing behaviors of the customers and the furniture specification highlighted during purchasing process in order to create a quality level that will fully meet customer expectations and wishes regarding the product specifications.

The consumer preferences regarding furniture specifications may differ according to countries. The product specifications that were most considered when purchasing furniture in Slovak Republic were, respectively, quality, price and style. As a style, modern designs were more preferred. The purchases were made primarily from store; catalog and online purchases came later (Kaputa & Šupín, 2010). In purchase of indoor and outdoor furniture in Slovakia and Croatia, the consumer preferences related to price, style, production quality and color of furniture did not differ, while significant differences in consumer preferences of two countries related to safety, brand, warranty and environmental impact of furniture have been identified. In both countries, country where furniture was produced was ineffective in the purchase decision, while the local manufacturers are preferred over foreign manufacturers. Although there was no objection to presence of different materials in furniture, solid wood material was primarily preferred in both countries. In both countries, the price was primarily effective in the purchase decision and production quality, style, warranty, safety and color are other effective factors (Kaputa et al., 2018). In the research examining the attitudes of consumers in Germany towards light furniture and the use of light wood-based materials in furniture design, weight feature has not been found to have a primary effect on attracting customers' attention, unlike more relevant factors such as quality, price and design (Knauf, 2015). Except for the 31–40 age group consumers who preferred furniture made of materials such as particleboard and fiberboard in Slovenia and Croatia, other consumers preferred furniture made of solid wood. In Serbia, consumers under age of 40 and over 60 preferred solid wood furniture, while others preferred furniture made of wood-based boards. In Slovenia, consumers aged 31–40 and over 60 preferred high-priced furniture, while others preferred average-priced furniture. In Serbia, the group up to age of 40 preferred high-priced furniture, the group aged 41–60 preferred average price and the group over 60 preferred low-priced furniture. In Croatia, consumers up to age of 40 preferred high-priced furniture, while consumers aged 41–50 and over 60 preferred low-priced furniture. In all three countries, the price was the primary factor in purchasing, followed by material and service factors, respectively (Oblak, Glavonjić, et al., 2020). Since it was higher in terms of design and quality criteria in Tanzania's Dar Es Salaam and Arusha cities, imported furniture was more preferred than local furniture. In low-income groups, local furniture was preferred because of its cheapness (Kumburu & Kessy, 2021). In a study in Finland, focusing on the development of marketing strategies by going to market segmentation depending on the differences in the constructions of wooden home furniture, quality and design are the most important features in all market segments, while style and advertising are determined as the last attributes (Pakarinen & Asikainen, 2001). In terms of naturalness, ecological features, environmental impact, renewability, traditions, health and safety, wood materials were the most preferred materials in indoor furnishing elements in Slovakia and Poland. Combustion strength, health, safety and durability were prominent specifications of consumers' choice of materials in both countries (Paluš et al., 2012).

The preference priorities regarding product specifications such as functionality, reliability, durability, safety, aesthetics, type of material used, price, brand and brand image, economy, origin, etc. vary according to personal, sociological and psychological characteristics of the consumers.

Consumers in Kayseri city/Türkiye planned to use the seating furniture they bought until they were completely worn out, as well as planned to use them for at least 6–10 years. In terms of purchasing preferences, they were taking into consideration aesthetics, ease of use and reasonable price while, in fabric preference, they want the fabric to be of high quality, cleanable and washable (Güzel, 2020a). Durability was the primary factor in furniture preferences of male and female employees on Hacettepe University campuses. Durability was also a top priority for all education levels. While variables of durability and economy came to fore in choice of living furniture by consumers of all education levels, aesthetic variable in dining room furniture and durability in bedroom furniture was also in foreground (Öztop et al., 2008). While consumer groups that followed fashion preferred Ming-style furniture with curved and complex lines, utilitarian consumer groups preferred straight, delicate and simple Ming-style furniture. The consumer group, which was called moderate in terms of style between these two extremes, did not have a clear preference for form (Liu et al., 2017). In used furniture, the consumers made purchases depending on six criteria that were sustainability, originality, quality, having a story, structural integrity and price. The consumers who prioritize sustainability criteria also cared about robustness and structural integrity. The consumers who seek originality in purchase of used furniture did not care about structural integrity and focused on product differences. The consumers who prioritize quality were not sensitive to price and highlighted functional satisfaction of the product. The consumers who expect furniture having a story in the past cared about quality as well as originality and did not care about price. The consumers who seek structural integrity in furniture wanted their robustness and quality materials to be used. Price-priority purchasers were insensitive in terms of sustainability, having a story and originality criteria (Viikari, 2021). When choosing Rattan furniture compared to other furniture, modernity, environmental awareness, social status and sustainability criteria were at the forefront, respectively.

Social status, modernity and environmental sensitivity criteria were at the forefront in purchasing rattan furniture (Amoah et al., 2015). Quality, design, price, environmental sensitivity and warranty were main criteria that Iranian consumers highlighted in purchase of furniture. Iranian consumers stated that furniture made of engineered wood was heavy and they could buy furniture made of light panels with filling construction, even if it was at a 5–9% higher price, provided that it was environmentally friendly labeled and guaranteed and provided more product variety (Khojasteh-Khosro et al., 2022). Similarly, in the ANP-based survey study conducted on Iranian consumers' use of light panels in furniture manufacturing and their must-have features; It has been revealed that product design, quality and price are effective sub-criteria for furniture manufacturers (Khojasteh-Khosro et al., 2020). Consumers were aware of the fact that wood is a natural and organic material, and this fact was main reason for preference in purchasing of wood as a material in furniture and other furnishing elements. Consumers stated that they might prefer furniture made of wood composites in the case of product functionality and product diversity in design, since solid wood was expensive (Güzel, 2020b). For furniture made of oak, birch, spruce, cherry, maple and alder, wood species-price relationship was insignificant in sales made at two different prices with and without specifying the wood specie. In sales made at high prices, the products made from cherry were preferred if wood specie was labelled on product, and the products made from oak were preferred wood specie was not labeled. When price level and wood species labeling variables were ignored, cherry and oak were the most preferred wood species in furniture (Bumgardner et al., 2007). In Slovenia, there were differentiations regarding the criteria taken into account in the purchase of furniture between the years 2010–2019. The most preferred material for both indoor and outdoor furniture was solid wood. Between the aforementioned dates, while preference rate for indoor furniture has increased, preference rate for outdoor furniture has decreased. Wood composites and mixed materials are second and third most preferred materials for indoor furniture. In outdoor furniture, mixed material furniture preference was in second place. Quality was the top priority criterion in purchase of furniture, followed by design and color. The country where furniture was produced and product brand were criteria that had the least effect on furniture purchasing (Oblak, Perić, et al., 2020) .

There was no difference before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in communication activities of consumers before making a final decision regarding purchase of furniture. However, rate of online purchasing, which was 6.5% before the COVID-19 pandemic, increased to 14.3% during the pandemic (Pirc Barčić et al., 2021). Product customization was one of the most important criterion in purchasing indoor furniture, followed by price and delivery time criteria (Lihra et al., 2012). In order to ensure a general increase in purchase of green products, it is not sufficient to inform consumers only, but it is necessary to make environmental awareness a lifestyle that manages the behaviors. Green-conscious consumers can tolerate higher product prices if the furniture's ecological label is documented by their manufacturers (Wulandari et al., 2012).

The aim of this study is to determine the factor priorities and the effect levels of furniture specifications (factors) on furniture purchasing decisions of consumers according to the some socio-demographic characteristics.

2. Materials And Methods

3. Results And Discussion

The effect levels of the factors on purchase decision of furniture, without considering any socio-demographic characteristics, are given in Table 3.

As can be seen in Table 3, "Functionality (8.29)" was the most effective factor in furniture purchasing, followed by "Lifetime (8.26)" and "Aesthetics (8.14)". The least effective factor was “Brand Image (6.82)”.