Willingness to pay study at Exeter Cathedral July 2019

The team at the University of Exeter undertook a series of studies over the summer, one objective being understanding visitor Willingness-to-Pay (WtP) for AR/VR technologies at cultural heritage sites
WtP is the maximum price a potential buyer is prepared to pay. Van Westendorp’s (1976) Price Sensitivity Meter (PSM) is used as an initial, exploratory step where there is genuine uncertainty over appropriate price range and provides an ‘acceptable’ price range.
Visitors were invited to try out two demonstrations; one ‘walk-the-plank’ and one ‘virtual tour’ (not VISTA demos but external demos of a quality we expect to deliver in VISTA). They were then asked ‘would you be willing to pay for these experiences?’ Depending on their answer they are shown a purchasing scenario and asked 4 questions on prices they consider too cheap, cheap, expensive, too expensive etc.

The initial study suggests a price for the experience between £6 and £15, with the optimal price point of £10 (i.e. where resistance to the price is lowest). This price range will be tested in further studies in early 2020, using discrete choice modelling to measure the perceived value of specific features of the visitor experience. The hope is that this will provide management with the information to support pricing decisions.