EVALUATION AND

CONSUMERAudrey Rachal Stephanie

VALUE FOR MONEY

the relationship between the value of something and the money spent on it

If the price of the product is too high, there would be less demand for the product

The maximum price is determined by the demand and the minimum price is dependant on the costs of production

HOW CONSUMERS APPLY CRITERIA TO EVALUATE A PRODUCT

Before purchase : advertising, product image, list price and reviews by experts and other consumers

Purchase : aesthetics, performance, build quality and purchase price

Initial use : actual performance, safety, ease of use

Long term use : reliability, ease of maintenance, durability and running costs

HOW THE CRITERIA ARE ASSIGNED DIFFERENT WEIGHTINGS DEPENDING ON THE DESIGN CONTEXT

If the product is a luxury product, aesthetics, rarity and advertisements play the most important roles

If the product is targeted to the general public, purchase price, durability and ease of use are important

Public services should be safe, reliable and available all the time

THE RELEVANCE OF QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONSUMER ASSOCIATIONS

Consumer associations are basically people that carry out researches of products for the benefits of the general public

Quality assurance is developed by the consumer associations

Consumers do not have to research on the product when considering purchasing products

MEDIA AND EDUCATION

Reviews are distributed through the internet (e.g. Blogs), on television (e.g. Lifestyle programmes), newspaper articles, ...etc.