Investigating consumer preferences for laptop computers using Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC) Analysis

This study employs a choice-based joint (CBC) analysis to investigate college students' preferences for laptop computers. Data was collected from 49 students at a university in the Midwestern part of the United States. The authors focused on five attributes: brand, price, screen size, performance, and battery life. The results show that branding, especially Apple, is the most critical factor, indicating strong brand loyalty or perceived quality. Performance and battery life followed as most important and can be affected by high usage. Conversely, the impact of screen size is minimal, suggesting that students are prioritizing portability and functionality over larger displays. The findings provide insights for manufacturers and marketers, highlighting the need to focus on brand reputation, performance efficiency, and battery life to appeal to student consumers. However, the limitations of the study – a small, homogeneous sample from one university – warn against broad generalization. Future studies should expand sample diversity and size to validate these conclusions and explore differences across demographics. This work highlights the value of CBC analysis in understanding consumer trade-offs in technology adoption.