Is there a “price that’s right” for at-home COVID tests?

by Rebecca Portney Kirby, Michal Maimaran, Kara M. Palamountain

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the daily lives of individuals across the world as multiple variants continue introducing new complexities. In December 2021, which is when we conducted our study, pressure to resume the normalcy of daily life was mounting as a new variant, Omicron, was rapidly spreading. A variety of at-home tests detecting SARS-CoV-2, known to the general public as “COVID tests,” were available for consumers to purchase. In this study, we conducted conjoint analysis utilizing an internet-based survey by presenting consumers (n = 583) with 12 different hypothetical at-home COVID test concepts that varied on five attributes (price, accuracy, time, where-to-buy, and method). Price was identified as the most important attribute, because participants were very price sensitive. Quick turnaround time and high accuracy were also identified as important. Additionally, although 64% of respondents were willing to take an at-home COVID test, only 22% reported they had previously taken the test. On December 21, 2021, President Biden announced the U.S. government would purchase 500 million at-home rapid tests and distribute them for free to Americans. Given the importance of price to participants, this policy of providing free at-home COVID tests was directionally appropriate.