Market Segmentation of Aquilaria Sinensis-Classification of Consumers' Lifestyle Typologies

Aquilaria sinensis (also known as Guanxiang in Chinese) is one of the special agarwood in South China. It is mainly produced and traded in Dongguan, Guangdong, China. Aquilaria sinensis is highly valuable for medicine, fragrance and decoration purposes. However, only few people are aware of its existence in China, and even the local Dongguan residents are unfamiliar with it. This paper introduces the lifestyle segmentation method to analyze consumers' behavior in Aquilaria sinensis market. We used a series of activities, interests and opinions to access lifestyle typologies of the consumers. Factor analysis identified three key factors that potentially influence the consumer behavior: cultural value factor, activity experience factor and consumer preference factor. The cluster analysis revealed four types of market segments in Aquilaria sinensis products: the freshmen who know nothing about Aquilaria sinensis, the “nouveau riche” who can afford it and prefer to experience it, the “old money” who pursue life quality and social status, and the “poor but exquisite” who appreciate it but can not afford it. Finally, according to these four types of market segments, some market development advice are discussed for the upgrading and popularization of Aquilaria sinensis products.

I. Introduction

Different from other Aquilaria, Aquilaria sinensis is endemic to Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China. Aquilaria sinensis is one of the important species of incense sources. Aquilaria sinensis has both medical and economic value (Tan, C.S, et al., 2019),^[1] and its long historical development has also given it unique cultural value. The practical value of Aquilaria sinensis mainly reflects in its medicinal and aesthetic values. Aquilaria sinensis is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, which is widely used clinically. We also use Aquilaria sinensis wood as the raw material for elegant sculpture ornaments. The economic value of Aquilaria sinensis mainly depends on its unique fragrance and scarce production. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the noblemen highly sought after it. In modern times, its price has soared due to the short supply. During the depth interviews with practitioners in Aquilaria sinensis market, including the China Agarwood Museum, Dongguan Agarwood Association and middle and small-sized enterprises, it is concluded that the spiritual core of Aquilaria sinensis culture is the pioneering spirit, fearlessness and gratitude.