The preferences of consumers when selecting skin care products

Purpose of the study: The importance of existing sales affinities between products cannot be understated. Consumers shopping baskets contain multiple products, from several product categories resulting in the development of a basket of cross-category products. Given that consumer preferences are attribute-driven, the authors questioned the attribute preferences of selected cross-category skincare products. As such the aim of the study was to determine product attribute preferences for skincare cross-category products in Durban. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research design was used in the form of a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The study targeted Durban consumers and sampled 213 students selected from three Durban universities. Sampling techniques included the use of convenience sampling and respondents were purposely selected based on their capacity to give meaningful information relevant to the study. Conjoint analysis experts and a statistician was used to ensure research instrument validity. The questionnaire was also pretested prior to data collection. Findings: The results indicated acceptable, consistent scoring patterns for the research instrument. Kendall’s Tau test was used to test for reliability of the research instrument. The study revealed that for skincare products, durability was the most important attribute followed by the brand, product effectiveness (strength),