The North American fresh pear industry faces marketing challenges that could jeopardize its' long-term economic profitability. The production of sliced fresh pears is a promising alternative to overcome the lack of supplying consistently a product with superior quality with added convenience, potentially able to increase domestic consumption. In this paper, we used sensory evaluation and a Vickrey experimental auction to elicit consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for sliced packed fresh pears treated with SmartFresh™ (1-methylcyclopropene)and subsequently with a ripening compound (RC) in the form of glyoxylic acid at different concentration levels (1%, 2%, 3%, and control). Panelists were willing to pay a price premium equivalent to $0.119/2 oz packet for the 2% RC sample, $0.055/2 oz packet for the 3% RC sample, and $0.025/2 oz packet for the 1% RC sample compared to the control sample. Results from a market segmentation analyses indicate the presence of two groups in the panelist sample. The group that liked sliced pears assigned higher importance to locally grown fruit and price, shopped at conventional retailer grocery stores, had fewer children in the household, and were younger compared to the group that disliked sliced pears.

中文翻译：

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评估消费者对新型切片包装新鲜梨的偏好和支付意愿：一种潜在的分类方法

北美新鲜梨产业面临着可能危及其长期经济盈利能力的营销挑战。新鲜梨片的生产是一种很有前景的替代方案，可以克服无法始终如一地提供优质和便利的产品，并有可能增加国内消费。在本文中，我们使用感官评估和 Vickrey 实验性拍卖来吸引消费者对用 SmartFresh™（1-甲基环丙烯）处理的切片包装新鲜梨子的偏好和支付意愿，随后用乙醛酸形式的催熟化合物（RC）处理。不同浓度水平的酸（1%、2%、3% 和对照）。小组成员愿意为 2% RC 样品支付相当于 0.119 美元/2 盎司包的价格溢价，为 3% RC 样品支付 0.055 美元/2 盎司包和 0 美元的溢价。与对照样品相比，1% RC 样品的 025/2 盎司小包。市场细分分析的结果表明小组成员样本中存在两组。与不喜欢梨片的组相比，喜欢切片梨的组更重视当地种植的水果和价格，在传统零售商杂货店购物，家里的孩子较少，而且年龄较小。