DISPLAYING FRUIT IN VARIOUS TYPES OF PACKAGES AND IN BULK 



Costs and Effects on Quality and Sales 



By Nick Havas, Peter L. Henderson, Chester S. Parsons, and Paul Schaffer 1/ 



Agricultural Marketing Service 



SUMMARY 



A merchandising test showed that 18 percent more grapes were sold when the 

 grapes were displayed in home "toter" bags (open-top paper bags with handles) 

 than when they were displayed in overwrapped trays. The bags cost less than 

 the overwrapped trays, and the grapes kept better in the bags than in the trays. 

 But the quantity used as the pricing unit (1^- pounds for 31 cents) did not fill 

 the bags, and shoppers sometimes filled them with grapes from other packages. 

 If the home toter bags are to be used successfully, retailers should choose 

 sizes that will hold only the volume desired for a selected pricing unit. 



Sleevewrapped and overwrapped trays were equally effective for selling 

 pears, but the cost of packaging in the sleevewrapped trays was lower. When 

 displayed on nonre frige rated cases, pears in the overwrapped trays showed less 

 scald than those in sleevewrapped trays. 



Apples and oranges of premium quality and size were displayed in sleeve- 

 wrapped trays, overwrapped trays, open trays, polyethylene bags, and in bulk. 

 Total sales were about the same whether the fruit was displayed in packages 

 only or in both packages and bulk. 



Costs of direct labor and materials for packaging apples and oranges of 

 premium quality and size were about 1 cent less for the polyethylene bags and 

 0.8 cent less for the sleevewrapped trays than for the overwrapped trays; the 

 overwrapped trays cost about h.k cents each. The open trays cost about the 

 same as the sleevewrapped tray, but fruit in open trays was handled excessively 

 by customers and additional time was required at the checkout counter to repack 

 the fruit. Type of package did not affect the keeping quality of apples and 

 oranges when displayed under refrigeration. 



Sales of medium-size oranges were significantly greater when part or all 

 of the oranges displayed were prepackaged (in polyethylene bags) than when they 

 were all displayed in bulk. There was little difference in labor and material 

 costs for merchandising the medium-size oranges in packages or in bulk. The 

 keeping quality of prepackaged and bulk fruit was about the same, except that 

 weight loss and softening were greater in the bulk displays. These findings 

 indicate that retailers can expect greater returns by displaying medium-size 

 oranges prepackaged or in combination with bulk rather than all in bulk. 



As might be expected, weight loss in all test fruit was generally greater, 

 visible decay in apples and pears more frequent, and the percentage of soft 

 oranges higher, when the fruit was displayed without refrigeration. 



1/ Mr. Havas and Mr. Henderson were responsible for the retail sales test; 

 Mr. Parsons was in charge of the quality maintenance test; and Mr. Schaffer was 

 responsible for evaluating the direct labor and materials test. 



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