Product line design is challenged by the diversity of demand in the market and the wide variety of product features available for sale. Some consumers have broad experience in the activities associated with a product category and others engage narrowly and rely on products in more limited ways. The number of product features and their levels is often large and difficult to characterize in a low-dimensional space. Evaluating marketing opportunities when there exist many usage contexts and product features requires the integration of information on what and when features are demanded, and by whom. We propose an archetypal analysis that combines data on the context of consumption, alternative product usage and feature preferences useful for product line design and management.
