International differences in product perception: a product map analysis

Shows that traditional product mapping methods for product positioning analysis fail in international settings due to the high variability of product preferences within each country and the lack of a common product perception among countries. Shows how explicitly incorporating variation in the product positioning analysis can overcome both of these problems. Uses a comparison of how Japanese and US consumers differ in their perceptions of the gift market for young males to illustrate how the proposed method differs from traditional methods. Indicates that Japanese consumers perceive the gift market much more uniformly than Americans.