Proximity or ultra-proximity to the place of manufacture of non-food products: what effects on preferences and willingness to pay?[Proximité ou ultra-proximité du lieu de fabrication des produits non alimentaires : quels effets sur les préférences et le consentement à payer ?]

Products promoted as being made in France (MIF) are supposed to attract consumers and justify higher prices. Indeed, they maintain greater proximity to local consumers. We can therefore wonder whether greater spatial proximity, with products manufactured in the region or department of the consumer, would be associated with better reactions in terms of preference and willingness to pay (WTP), in particular in the case of non-food products not typical of the territories (less studied cases). Based on the literature on proximity and country of origin (COO) effects, three hypotheses are proposed and then tested using the conjoint measures method on a representative sample of the French population. The results show that ultra-proximity (region, department) brings nothing more compared to "simple" proximity (national), compared to remoteness (foreign production).