CONSUMER DEMAND FOR APPLES 65 



Eastern from Western apples. Of those who can, 54 per cent must eat the 

 apple in order to make identification complete, as they tell it by the flavor. 

 Fifteen per cent profess to be able to tell Western apples by their size, 

 obviously a very questionable method. Nearly the same number say 

 they identify them by the color. Only one person is able to identify them 

 by the variety, and only one indicates that she makes inquiry as to the 

 source from which they come. 



Factors That Influence Buying 



The qualities which appeal to the consumer and influence her buying 

 are chiefly the flavor, appearance, condition, cooking quality, juiciness 

 and size. One in four considers the flavor of the apples; 19 per cent 

 are influenced by the condition of the fruit, and 7 per cent more by the 

 cooking quality; appearance is a factor in the purchase of 11 per cent; 

 juiciness and size each influences 9 per cent of the consumers. 



More than half the housewives reporting, 54 per cent, stated a preference 

 for apples of uniform size. 



The price is named as a factor by 7 per cent and healthfulness by 4 

 per cent, although both are probably considered by many of those report- 

 ing, who neglected to mention them. 



Color is named by only 4 per cent as a determining factor, although 

 both wholesalers and retailers declare that the demand is almost entirely 

 for red apples. Only 21/2 per cent say they buy by the variety, and still 

 fewer state that they consider when buying the use to be made of the 

 apples bought. It is evident, however, that the average housewife recog- 

 nizes the general distinctions between eating and cooking apples. Two 

 report that they buy by brand. 



Regularity of Servhuj 



The 418 housewives who report serving apples on their tables, in the 

 summer, serve them on an average of 3.6 times weekly. In the fall, 471 

 families find apples in some form on their tables 5 times a week. In the 

 winter the rate of serving falls back to about the same as in the summer, 

 493 housewives in this season serving apples an average of 3.7 times a 

 week. The average for the year is 4.7 times, the most common number 

 of times reported being 2 to 3. 



Who Buys for the Family? 



The housewife buys the apples in more than half the households report- 

 ing, just as she buys most other commodities for the home. The man of 

 the family buys them in 30 per cent of the homes reporting and the re- 

 sponsibility is divided in 9 per cent. 



The unit quantity of apples purchased by the consumer seems to be 

 decreasing in size, customers now usually buying by the peck or by the 

 pound, whereas their grandparents bought by the bushel or the barrel. 

 The reasons for this are changes in living conditions, such as a tendency 

 to buy all commodities in smaller quantities and more frequently; the rise 

 of the neighborhood grocery store, making it easier to "go to market"; 

 the development of super-heated apartment houses with limited storage 



