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Discounting Spotted Apples: Investigating Consumers' Willingness to Accept Cosmetic Damage in an Organic Product

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Chengyan Yue ,
Frode Alfnes  and
Helen H. Jensen
Chengyan Yue
Affiliation:
Departments of Applied Economics and Horticultural Science, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN
Frode Alfnes
Affiliation:
Department of Economics and Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway
Helen H. Jensen
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
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Abstract

The appearance of organic produce is often less than perfect because of limited methods of avoiding plant diseases. We combine hypothetical and real auction mechanisms to investigate how cosmetic damage affects Consumers' willingness to pay for apples. We find that 75% of the participants are willing to pay more for organic than for conventional apples given identical appearance. However, at the first sight of any imperfection in the appearance of the organic apples, this segment is significantly reduced. Furthermore, the cosmetic damage has a larger impact on the willingness to pay for organic apples than for conventional apples.

Keywords

appearanceapplesexperimental auctionsorganicwillingness to payD12Q13
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , April 2009 , pp. 29 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2009

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