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NORTH CAROLINA CONSUMER STRAWBERRY REPORT N.C. Strawberry Association U.S. Department of Agriculture / N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, N. C. State University |
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Ruth Edens
Agricultural Statistician |
Craig Hayes
Deputy State Statistician |
Dr. Charles Safley
N.C. State University |
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Methodology The survey was conducted during April, May, and June of 1999. Eight strawberry locations were selected across North Carolina where customers were queried on their preferences for pick-your-own strawberries or pre-picked strawberries. The initial entrance and exit questionnaires were developed and pre-tested in 1998. The final survey incorporated grower suggestions and corrected the shortcomings identified during the pretest. Questions on the entrance survey dealt with the customer's picking history, purchase expectations, if they planned to pick their own strawberries or to buy pre-picked strawberries, picking preferences, and advertising. The exit questionnaire explored the amount of fruit consumers actually picked or purchased, the strawberry characteristics they preferred, how they were going to use the fruit, if they had picked more or less fruit than expected, and customer demographics. Results All the surveys were conducted at pick-your-own operations that grew strawberries using the annual hill production system and also sold pre-picked fruit at a produce stand. A total of 1,701 customers completed the survey. Of this total, 67% indicated that the trip was not their first visit to the strawberry operation. When asked if they had been to the same operation earlier this year, 45% indicated they had while 55% said that this was their first visit of the year. Only 12% of the customers said that they had visited another strawberry operation in 1999. The consumers were also asked how many years that they had picked strawberries, Chart 1. The majority, 58%, indicated they had picked strawberries for more than five years, 16% had picked between three and five years, 9% had picked between one and two years, 7% reported it was their first time, and 10% said that they do not pick strawberries. However, when asked if they were going to pick their own berries or buy pre-picked fruit, 49% of the respondents said were going to buy pre-picked strawberries and 51% indicated that they were going to pick. When purchase expectations were compared to what was actually bought, most customers picked or bought exactly what they intended to purchase, Chart 2. Of the respondents who picked their own fruit, 69% picked exactly what they expected to and of those who bought pre-picked berries, and 76% bought exactly what they expected. Slightly more than 21% of the pick-your-own customers picked more fruit than they had expected while about 9% picked less. Of the consumers who picked more, 56% indicated it was due to "good fruit quality" and 25% said it was because the strawberries were "easier to pick than expected". Of the customers who picked fewer strawberries than expected, 31% said it was because the fruit quality was poor and 18% said there were not enough strawberries in the field. Customers were also asked how much they expected to spend during their visit at the PYO operation. Of the 1,654 customers who responded to this question, 69% indicated they intended to spend between $1 and $10 and 22% reported they intended to spend between $11 and $20, Chart 3. When asked if they planned on buying more, less, or about the same volume of strawberries as in 1998, 58% of the customers said that expected to buy about the same, 36% would buy more, and 6% anticipated buying less. In regards to advertising, 77% of the respondents said their visit to the strawberry farm was not the result of an advertisement. Of the 23% who did respond to an advertisement, 57% said a sign or billboard influenced their decision and 22% said their visit was in response to a newspaper advertisement. Customers who were not influenced by an ad were asked why they visited the specific strawberry operation, Chart 4. Most of these consumers, 40.5%, indicated they came to the PYO operation because of its convenient location. Quality of the strawberries was the second largest reason with 16.1%, for visiting the farm while personal referrals was third with 16%. Less than 8% of the respondents said they were "driving by and decided to stop", 5% said they visited for the "farm experience" and 14.8% gave "other" reasons such as "wanting a family outing", volume discount, low prices, strawberry varieties, and exercise. Each respondent was asked to rank a list of six strawberry characteristics in order of importance. Freshness was ranked the highest followed by taste, firmness, color, size, and price. The rankings were identical regardless of whether the customers picked their own berries or purchased pre-picked fruit. When asked how they intended to use the fruit, 66% of the customers said they were going to consume the strawberries fresh. Freezing strawberries was the second most popular use, followed by making jam or jelly, and "other" reason, such as using the fruit as a gift or making pies, Chart 5. On average, it took PYO customers about 37 minutes to pick their own strawberries. Overall consumers traveled an average of 19.7 miles to pick or buy strawberries. Most customers, 33%, traveled between 5 and 9 miles while 27% traveled between 10 and 19 miles, Table 1. One couple said they had driven 1,700 miles and happened to see the PYO operation and decided to stop which explains why the average was 223.2 miles for the last mileage category. |
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The largest percentage of respondents, 48%, lived in a city or town and 46% lived in a rural area but not on a farm. Only 6% reported living on a farm. Most of the pick-your-own customers, 51%, said they lived in the city and 43% lived in a rural area but not on a farm. Again, only 6% indicated they live on farms. Of the consumers who bought pre-picked strawberries, 48% reported they live in a rural setting but not on a farm and 46% indicated they live in a city or town. Once again, only 6% indicated they live on a farm. The highest percentage of all the respondents, 22%, indicated their income was between $30,000 and $44,999 followed by 21% who said their income was over $75,000, Table 2. Two income levels tied for third, $60,000 to $74,999 and $15,000 to $29,999, while customers with incomes between $45,000 and $59,999 were fifth. The highest income category for pre-pick customers was $75,000 or more and for PYO customers the largest category was $30,000 to $44,999. The second highest income bracket was $30,000 to $40,000 for pre-pick customers and $60,000 to $74,999 for PYO consumers. |
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| The most frequent "party mix" of customers was a single female and the most common type of household was a couple without any children, Table 3. The "typical" household of the PYO customers had one adult who worked more than 40 hours while the household of the consumers who bought pre-picked berries had 2 adults working more than 40 hours. The average age of all the respondents was 52 years old and the majority subscribed to a newspaper and listened to country music. The average distance traveled was almost 20 miles, but customers who bought pre-picked strawberries drove almost 6 miles more than the pick-your-own customers. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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