The demand for wildlife products drives an illegal trade estimated to be worth up to $10 billion per year,
ranking it amongst the top transnational crimes in terms of value. Orchids are one of the best-selling
plants in the legal horticultural trade but are also traded illegally and make up 70% of all species listed
by the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). To study consumer preferences
for horticultural orchids we use choice experiments to survey 522 orchid buyers online and at large
international orchid shows. Using latent class modelling we show that different groups of consumers in
our sample have distinct preferences, and that these groups are based on gender, genera grown, online
purchasing and type of grower. Over half of our sample, likely to be buyers of mass-produced orchids,
prefer white, multi-flowered plants. Of greater conservation interest were a smaller group consisting
of male hobbyist growers who buy their orchids online, and who were willing to pay significantly more
for species that are rare in trade. This is the first in-depth study of consumer preferences in the international
orchid trade and our findings confirm the importance of rarity as a driver of hobbyist trade. We
show that market-research methods are a new tool for conservationists that could provide evidence
for more effective conservation of species threatened by trade, especially via campaigns that focus on
demand reduction or behaviour change.
The demand for wildlife products drives an illegal trade estimated to be worth up to $10 billion per year,ranking it amongst the top transnational crimes in terms of value. Orchids are one of the best-sellingplants in the legal horticultural trade but are also traded illegally and make up 70% of all species listedby the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). To study consumer preferencesfor horticultural orchids we use choice experiments to survey 522 orchid buyers online and at largeinternational orchid shows. Using latent class modelling we show that different groups of consumers inour sample have distinct preferences, and that these groups are based on gender, genera grown, onlinepurchasing and type of grower. Over half of our sample, likely to be buyers of mass-produced orchids,prefer white, multi-flowered plants. Of greater conservation interest were a smaller group consistingof male hobbyist growers who buy their orchids online, and who were willing to pay significantly morefor species that are rare in trade. This is the first in-depth study of consumer preferences in the internationalorchid trade and our findings confirm the importance of rarity as a driver of hobbyist trade. Weshow that market-research methods are a new tool for conservationists that could provide evidencefor more effective conservation of species threatened by trade, especially via campaigns that focus ondemand reduction or behaviour change.
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