Authors
Jiapeng Liu, Yan Wang, Miłosz Kadziński, Xiaoxin Mao, Yuan Rao
Publication date
2024/10/1
Journal
Omega
Volume
128
Pages
103113
Publisher
Pergamon
Description
We introduce a novel Bayesian hierarchical model for consumer preference analysis, addressing two significant challenges in this domain. First, it accommodates preference heterogeneity at both individual and segment levels. This enables actionable insights for targeting and pricing decisions while quantifying uncertainty. Second, it incorporates probabilistic value-based ranking to handle inconsistent and sparse preference data. This way, it mitigates the impact of cognitive biases and alleviates uncertainty in estimates. The proposed method performs robust inference of consumers’ preferences through hierarchical priors, allowing for flexible parameter learning and borrowing statistical strength from well-informed individuals. We demonstrate its practical usefulness by analyzing the real preferences of almost one hundred consumers considering mobile phone contracts. We also report the results of an extensive …