Investigation of consumer preferences on next-to-skin crosses choice

The aim. Today, a special place is occupied by religious jewelry in the market. This is due to the specifics of this group of goods, because the consumer chooses not only jewelry, but also the attributes of the spiritual worldview. At the same time, the formation of the jewelry range is influenced in some degree by the preferences of the population, so the definition of factors influencing them is relevant. The aim of the current article was to investigate a consumer behavior when choosing next-to-skin crosses of different styles and materials of manufacture, taking into account age and gender of respondents. Methodology. A next-to-skin cross was chosen the object in the proposed work whereas it is simultaneously the epitome of the Christian faith and the subject of Jeweller's art. The determining of preferences when choosing the jewelry of religious meaning was based on a remote questionnaire among men and women aged 18 to 45 and more. Results. The Ukrainian consumer prefers the next-to-skin crosses made from silver, performed in the Classic and Minimalist styles. Next-to-skin crosses made in such artistic styles as Baroque, Rococo and Empire did not attract the attention of participants of survey. It was determined that the respondent's age is statistically significant in the choice of the manufacturing material and the artistic style of the next-to-skin cross. Also, the results of the survey showed that consumers choose next-to-skin crosses, taking into account their own religion and aesthetic properties of the proposed jewelry, in particular, appearance, framing. In addition, crosses are talismans for survey participants. The scientific novelty of the obtained data is to identify consumer preferences when choosing crosses. Practical significance. The practical significance of the article is to identify the scientific and social effectiveness of the proposed methods for determining consumer preferences when choosing crosses. The prospects for future research may focus on expert conducting towards evaluation of religious jewelry. Also, the results of this work indicate the need to identify other factors influencing choice of jewelry, in particular, a social status, an educational level of consumers, etc.

jewelry; next-to-skin crosses; artistic style; preferences; consumer