Evaluation of consumers’ choice of wooden dining furniture in Southwestern Nigeria: A market strategy for furniture manufacturers and marketers

Abstract

This study evaluated consumers’ choice of wooden dining furniture in Southwestern Nigeria to provide information that could guide business decisions by manufacturers and marketers of wooden dining furniture. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires administered on 345 randomly selected respondents between July and December, 2008. These were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Chi-square on SPSS 15.0 software. The result showed that 84.38, 94.44 and 82.14% of the respondents in Lagos, Ibadan and Osogbo, respectively, would change their dining set when damaged. The chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between respondents with high income and showroom, and respondents with high income and roadside purchases (p<0.05). The relationship between respondents with low income and special arrangement with furniture makers in workshops was also significant (p<0.05). The determinants of consumers’ choice for wooden dining furniture were: durability, 89.26%; design/finishing, 80.43%; colour/grain, 63.64%; wood species, 52.31%; and wood grade, 48.12%. Only 19, 25 and 18% of the respondents in Lagos, Ibadan and Osogbo, respectively, had knowledge of wood species used for furniture making. The preferred wood species were: Mansonia altissima, 89.00%; Khaya ivorensis, 80.00%; Cordia millenii, 54.00%; Milicia excelsa, 28.00%; Terminalia ivorensis, 18.00% and Gaurea cedrata, 5.00%, respectively. There was a significant difference (p<0.05) in consumers preference for these wood species both within and between the cities. The study recommended increase use of durable Lesser Used Species (LUS) of
trees for producing dining furniture and location of showrooms to target high income earners.