To invest or not to invest- Consumer Preferences as Guiding Line

DIW Econ Economic Bulletin N° 5

The ultimate driver of product market development is consumer demand. In well-established markets prices and volume of sales can be observed more or less easily. However, consumer behavior is hard to predict in markets for new or complex products such as ICT services, green electricity, or health care. Even though such markets are often shaped by political frame conditions, from a business point of view the decision whether to enter a market or to invest into new projects must be built on solid knowledge about consumer demand. Moreover, in a political context data on consumer preferences allow to find optimal regulation maximizing economic welfare.

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