The likelihood of an apple purchase increased according to income and age; consumers in the lowest and youngest brackets were much less likely to buy the fruit than those who were more affluent and older. Shoppers age 59 and older were the most likely to buy apples overall, with eight in 10 saying they made a purchase in the past year.
For three of the past four years (including Fresh Trends 2018), shoppers in the Northeast have comprised the region most likely to buy apples (they tied with Westerners once). Last year Midwesterners were most likely to buy.
Caucasian consumers and Hispanic shoppers were about even in their likelihood of purchase, both groups were more likely to buy apples than those from other ethnic backgrounds. In fact, black and Asian shoppers were among the least likely to buy apples overall, along with those in the lowest income bracket. The likelihood of an apple purchase fell four percentage points from last year.
One-third of apple buyers purchased organic fruit at least some of the time, up from 30% who said the same last year. Asian shoppers and those earning more than $100,000 annually were the most likely to make a periodic organic apple purchase. Eleven percent of buyers said they always bought organic apples.
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