BULLETIN 323 MARCH 1960 ii ~lrkelii1Q Nealio 1 Pnulry i~uS ._ AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION A UB U RN 4+ _ E. V. Smith, Director U NI V ERS IT Y Auburn, Alabama CONTENTS Page OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY-----METHOD OF STUDY-- -- -5 - 5 CHARACTERISTICS OF RETAIL STORES SURVEYED 5 --- Location and Size of StoresT yp e of S to re --------- - ------ ---------- 5 --- --- 6 TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE- 6 - Products Sold- - - - - - - - - --- - 7 8 AVAILABILITY OF POULTRY-------- Fresh and Frozen Poultry Offered for Sale Season of Year and Days 8 9 -of Week ----- Poultry Was Sold----- BUYING AND HANDLING PRACTICES OF RETAIL STORES 18 18 15 Buying Practices------- - Handling PracticesSELLING PRACTICES - ----- --- ------------------------------------------- 17 Price Marking Advertising OTHER INFLUENCING FACTORS 17 17 19 19 19 Poultry - A Comparatively Profitable Sales Item Reasons for Not Handling Poultry Display Space for Poultry RELATIONSHIP OF VARIOUS FACTORS TO SIZE OF STORE -----------SUMMARY CONCLUSIONS APPENDIX -- 21 22 23 25 26 FIRST PRINTING 5M, MARCH 1960 MARKETING POULTRY MEATS in Alabama* Marketing Practices of Retail Food Stores in Non-Metropolitan Areas MORRIS WHITE, Associate Agricultural Economist RAPID GROWTH of the broiler industry in the South has been widely reported in recent years. This expansion occurred mainly during the 10-year period of 1947-56. During the first half of this 10-year period, many inefficiencies exisited in production of broilers. However, retail prices of beef and pork were relatively high during the same period. This made it possible for broiler meat to be competitive with other meats despite inefficiencies in production. Progress made during recent years in eliminating inefficiencies, along with integration of the growing, processing, and marketing functions, resulted in broilers continuing as a competitive source of meat while beef and pork prices were declining. Value of broilers in terms of other farm commodities has declined, but production has increased. Much of the increase has occurred in the Southern States where cotton was previously the major source of cash income. The reduction in acreage of cotton caused a need for additional sources of income and many farmers turned to broiler enterprises. Some of these now grow nothing but broilers. Because of stronger competition from other meats and of increasing supplies of chicken, it was apparent that markets had to be expanded if prices to broiler growers were to be maintained. * This project was supported by funds provided by the Research and Marketing Act of 1946 and State research funds. It is a contributing study to the Southern Regional Research Project Expanding the Markets for Poultry and Poultry Products, SM-15 (revised). 4 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION CONCENTRATED AREA MODERATE CONCENTRATION SBLACK "'LIGHT BELT CONCENTRATION Shaded areas' on the map are areas sampled in the study. Letter-designated counties are metropolitan areas and numbered regions are non-metropolitan areas. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 5 It was thought that a potential market for part of the increasing supplies of poultry meats existed in small urban areas. Field work on this study was begun in November 1955 and completed in the spring of 1956. OBJECTIVES of THE STUDY The broad purpose of the study was to aid in expanding markets for poultry and poultry products. Specific objectives were: 1. To determine the availability of poultry meats in retail stores of non-metropolitan areas. 2. To determine current practices in merchandising poultry meats in retail stores of non-metropolitan areas. 3. To evaluate the possibilities of developing new market outlets and increasing sales of poultry meats in non-metropolitan areas. METHOD of STUDY Four economic areas (as developed by the Bureau of the Census) were selected as areas of study, see map.' Three of these were selected to represent varying concentrations of broiler production in Alabama and to provide comparability with research studies in other states. 2 The fourth was chosen for its different population and farming characteristics and to provide greater coverage within the State. Within each economic area, all incorporated places of less than 50,000 and all unincorporated places of 1,000 or more population (1950 census) were listed in the following size groups: (1) less than 1,000, (2) 1,000-2,499, (3) 2,500-4,999, (4) 5,0009,999, and (5) 10,000-49,999. A 20 per cent sample was randomly drawn from each size group, and all food stores within the sample places were visited. CHARACTERISTICS of RETAIL STORES SURVEYED Location and Size of Stores In the economic areas selected to supplement the regional study, there were 165 towns and cities with less than 50,000 popuFor a detailed description of State Economic Areas see Chapter C, Statistics for State Economic Areas, 1954 Census of Agriculture, Alabama, p. 147. sale of poultry meats in retail food stores in non2 Similar data relating to metropolitan areas were collected in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. 6 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION lation. Data were obtained from 483 food stores in the 42 places drawn in the sample.3 Nine per cent of the stores were located in Economic Area 2, the concentrated broiler producing area in the Sand Mountain counties; 38 per cent were in Economic Area 5, the moderately concentrated broiler producing area of the Upper Coastal Plains counties; 31 per cent were in Economic Area 7-A, the limited broiler producing area in the Wiregrass counties; and 22 per cent in Economic Area 6, the Black Belt counties. Among areas, relatively more stores were in the larger places in Economic Areas 5 and 7-A, Appendix Table 1. Thirty-six per cent of the stores in these areas were in places of less than 5,000 while more than 60 per cent of stores in other areas were in places of this size. There were no places of 10,000 to 49,999 population in Economic Area 2. When measured in terms of annual gross food sales, most of the stores surveyed were relatively small. Seventy-two per cent of the stores from which information was obtained reported annual gross sales of less than $50,000, Appendix Table 2. Average annual gross food sales per store were approximately $53,756. Type of Store Stores were classified as independent, voluntary chain, regional or national chain, and cooperative. Ninety-five per cent were independent stores. Four per cent belonged to volunteer groups or chains, and 1 per cent were units of regional or national chain organizations. There were two cooperative stores. TYPE of CUSTOMER SERVICE Twenty-three per cent of all stores were self-service, while an additional 36 per cent were combination self-service and service stores. The other 41 per cent were service stores. Among economic areas, self-service stores were more numerous in Economic Area 5 and service stores more numerous in Economic Area 7-A, Appendix Table 3. The proportion of self-service stores was least in Economic Area 2, the most concentrated broiler producing area. Stores with relatively high annual gross food sales provided less customer service. Only one store with gross sales above $300,000 was not a self-service store, Appendix Table 4. Fifty-three per The number of places selected is in excess of a 20 per cent sample because there was only one town or city in some population categories. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 7 cent of the stores with less than $50,000 annual gross sales were completely service stores. Although there was a greater number of self-service stores in places of 10,000, to 49,999 population, the proportion of selfservice stores was greatest in places of 1,000 to 2,499 population, Appendix Table 5. Places with less than 1,000 population had the highest proportion of stores providing complete service. Sixteen per cent of the independent one-store businesses were selfservice, while 81 per cent of all other types of stores were equipped for self-service. The remaining 19 per cent provided some service. The proportion of stores that were self-service was higher where the income level of store customers was relatively high. In low income areas, combination and service stores were about equal in number. Products Sold Almost 100 per cent of the food stores handled produce, dairy products, and eggs. Of more interest, however, are fresh (red) meats, turkey, cold cuts, and fish, which compete with chicken. The data obtained indicated fresh frying chicken and fresh meats were handled by approximately the same proportion of stores, Table 1. In Economic Area 2 where poultry was concentrated, TABLE 1. PROPORTION OF STORES HANDLING VARIOUS MEAT ITEMS, BY EcONOMIC AREA AND SIZE OF STORE, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion handling various items Category Num- Fresh Fro- Stewber of frying zen ing Tur- Fresh Cold stores ck- ch ying chick- keys meats cuts en en Fishzenrof o en No. Economic area 41 2---------..... 186 5 -----....... 104 6 152 7-A Size of store Pct. 88 84 95 88 Pct. Pct. 37 49 55 37 67 47 35 53 Pct. 27 32 37 35 Pct. 78 87 87 89 Pct. 100 96 ,100 84 Pct. 51 67 74 56 Pct. 59 54 52 58 Under $ 50,000 $ 50,000-$ 99,999..--.. $100,000-$299,999-----$300,000-$499,999-----$500,000-above-------Undetermined ALL STORES 348 84 25 63 76 90 100 38 45 86 88 ,100 100 57 16 58 88 50 100 33 83 99 96 100 100 87 91 99 100 100 100 93 52 92 98 100 100 63 43 89 86 100 100 55 71 99 50 100 10 100 2 100 2.... 483 88 8 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 10 per cent more stores handled poultry than fresh meats. Cold cuts was the only other important competing product handled by more stores than handled poultry. All stores with annual gross food sales of $300,000 and above handled poultry and all competing items, Table 1. The same proportion of stores with less than $50,000 annual gross food sales sold fresh frying chicken as sold fresh meats. However, only about one-fourth of these stores handled frozen frying chicken and two-fifths handled stewing chicken. AVAILABILITY of POULTRY The retail grocer of today may offer poultry in many forms. He may have whole fryers, cut-up fryers, and/or frying chicken parts. One or all of these may be fresh or frozen. The same is true of turkeys, and, although stewing chicken is purchased whole, it may be fresh or frozen. Fresh and Frozen Poultry Offered for Sale Fresh poultry was the only form offered for sale in 53 per cent 34 of the stores. Another 8 per cent offered both fresh and frozen poultry. Two per cent sold frozen poultry, and 11 per cent sold no poultry. Fresh whole fryers was the form handled by the greatest proportion of stores. The proportion handling this product was the same in concentrated and non-concentrated poultry producing areas, Table 2. Fresh cut-up fryers were handled by the lowest proportion of stores. More than half the stores handled fresh stewing chicken, but in many stores this form was handled mostly "on order" from customers. Frozen cut-up fryers and frozen frying chicken parts were handled by more stores than handled these forms of fresh chicken. The proportion of stores handling frozen chicken parts was greatest in Economic Area 6. More stores handled fresh chicken as whole fryers, while most of those handling frozen chicken handled parts. In places with less than 1,000 population, the proportion of stores handling all forms of poultry was lower than in places of greater size, Table 2. The greatest difference was with stewing chicken, which only 24 per cent of the stores in places with less than 1,000 population handled. Fresh cut-up fryers and fresh MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA TABLE 2. PROPORTION OF STORES HANDLING VARIOUS FORMS OF FRESH AND FROZEN CHICKEN MEAT, BY ECONOMIC AREA AND SIZE OF CITY, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 9 1956 Proportion handling various forms Number Category of stores Fresh fryers not cut-up res fryers cut- Fresh fryingst chicken parts F g stewing Frozen cut-up Frozen frying chicken parts chicken Pct. 49 55 67 53 24 45 71 63 67 57 fryers Pct. Pct. Pct. No. Economic area 2 88 0 41 2-........................ 9 84 5 186 5 5 94 3 104 6 7 5 88 152 7-A -................... Pct. 15 20 14 15 14 19 15 17 18 17 Pct. 37 31 43 29 16 36 45 82 37 33 Size of city 86 Under 1,000___. 64 1,000- 2,499___. 62 2,500- 4,999___. 90 5,000- 9,999___. 181 10,000-49,999__ 483 ALL CITIES-... 73 86 92 93 91 88 0 0 2 6 8 4 1 2 6 9 11 7 chicken parts were not handled by more than one store out of eight in any size place, and not at all by stores in places with less than 2,500 population. The proportion of stores handling various forms of poultry increased as the size of town increased up to 5,000 population. All regional and national chain stores and all members of voluntary chains handled fresh poultry in some form. The 11 per cent of stores not handling poultry were all independently owned. Season of Year and Days of Week Poultry Was Sold SEASON OF YEAR. Modern marketing facilities and methods, to- gether with year-round production, make it possible for food stores to have fresh chicken during all seasons. Data indicate that most stores handle chicken throughout the year. Two out of three store operators reported little difference among seasons in sales of fresh chicken, Appendix Table 6. Where a difference among seasons existed, summer was named as the time when the greatest volume of chicken was sold. Operators in Economic Area 2 named this season more often than operators in other areas. No operators in Economic Area 2 reported spring, fall, or winter as the season when sale of chicken was greatest. Each season was named by some operators in each of the other areas. Operators of the largest stores reported little seasonal difference in sales of chicken. One out of 5 operators of the second 10 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION largest size stores and 1 out of 10 operators in the group of smallest stores: reported that they sold more chicken in the summer than in other seasons. DAYS OF WEEK. Fresh chicken is no longer a food item that is offered for sale only on the weekend. Seventy-nine per cent of the stores offered fresh poultry 6 days during the week, Appendix Table 7. Among areas, the proportion of stores offering fresh poultry 6 days per week was lowest in Economic Area 2, where one out of four stores had it on Friday and Saturday only. Twenty-eight per cent of the smallest stores offered fresh chicken for sale fewer than 6 days per week. One out of eight of the small stores offered fresh frying chicken on Friday and Saturday only. Stewing chicken was handled by only 57 per cent of the stores visited. Of the 274 stores offering stewing chicken for sale, 15 per cent did so only on weekends and 30 per cent only on orders from customers. The highest proportion of stores offering fresh stewing chicken for sale the entire week was in Economic Area 5; the lowest was in Economic Area 2, where 55 per cent of the stores sold fresh stewing chicken only on weekends or on order. All stores with more than $300,000 food sales offered fresh stewing chicken for sale all week. Two out of five small stores offered stewing chicken all week and another two out of five on order only. Most stores providing self-service offered stewing chicken for sale all week, but 68 per cent of the customer-service stores did not. Although 79 per cent of the stores offered fresh poultry for sale 6 days per week, approximately 70 per cent of sales was during the last half of the week, Table 3. Relatively, poultry sales were more evenly distributed throughout the week in large stores. Among areas, the number of stores having less than $100,000 gross sales comprised between 73 and 86 per cent of the total and sold between 28 and 47 per cent of the fresh fryers not cut up, Appendix Table 8. Stores having gross sales between $100,000 and $299,999 sold the greatest amount of poultry, although they did not have the highest average per store. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA I I MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 1 TABLE 3. PROPORTION OF FRESH POULTRY SOLD ON WEEKEND, BY ECONOMIC AREA AND BY SIZE OF STORE, 392 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of Sales on weekends, by size of store Economic area Under $50,000 $100,000 $300,000 $500,000 $50,000 -$99,999 -$299,999-$499,999and above Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 86 74 77 84 0 77 73 66 66 57 83 73 75 78 0 75 67 74 71 0 78 71 72 71 57 ALL AREAS----------- Among cities, a relatively higher proportion of fresh poultry was sold during the last half of the week in places having less than 1,000 population, Table 4. The proportion of fresh poultry sold in various sizes of cities during the last half of the week differed among of the week tended to decrease as size of city increased in Economic Areas 6 and 7-A. More than half the fresh poultry was sold in the largest cities, Table 5. For all ayeas, 3 per cent was sold in. places with areas. The proportion sold during the last half only TABLE 4. PROPORTION OF FRESH POULTRY SOLD ON WEEKEND, BY ECONOMIC AREA AND SIZE OF CITY, 392 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of sales on weekends, by size of city Economic area Under 1,000 Pet. 83 90 93 73 85 1,0002,499 Pet. 92 77 81 80 82 2,5004,999 Pet. 81 75 81 75 77 5,0009,999 Pet. 76 62 76 75 70 10,000 above Pet. 68 74 72 70 Aver age 7-A ALL AREAS- Pct. 79 67 78 74 71 TABLE 5. PROPORTION OF FRESH POULTRY SOLD IN CITIES OF VAWOUS SIZES, 392 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of sales, by size of city Economic area Unde r 1,00( 1,0002,499 2,5004999 5,0009,999 10,000 above Total Per ce nt Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 100 6 29 59 2 .- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 100 66 8 9 16 1-----------------5 22 14 10 47 100. 6--------- ---------- 7 8 8 22 58 100 7 -A -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 11 11 18 57 100 3 ALL AREAS ----------- 12 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION TABLE 6. DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION AMONG SAMPLE PLACES, BY SIZE OF CITY, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Economic area Population distribution, by size of city Under 1,0002,5005,00010,000 1,000 2,499 4,999 9,999 above Pct. 10 3 7 9 6 Total population 12,275 62,881 43,345 37,572 155,578 2 -----------------------------------5 6 7-A ALL AREAS Pct. 8 5 15 7 8 Pct. 39 7 14 7 12 Pct. 48 11 12 19 16 Pct. 74 53 58 58 ---- less than 1,000 population. A comparison of the proportion sold in cities and towns of various sizes is more meaningful when compared with the proportion of population residing in each size city and town, Table 6. The relationship of proportion of population in cities of given sizes to proportion of fresh poultry sold in those cities varied among areas. Places of less than 5,000 contained 57 per cent of the urban population in Economic Area 2 and had 41 per cent of the fresh poultry sales; corresponding percentage figures were 15 and 18 for Economic Area 5, 36 and 43 for Economic Area 6, and 22 and 23 for Economic Area 7-A. Relative sales of poultry in cities having populations above 10,000 were less than the relative proportions of population in these cities in Economic Areas 5, 6, and 7-A. Per capita sales of fresh poultry for all areas were greater in cities having a population between 5,000 and 10,000. FORMS OF TURKEY MEAT HANDLED. More stores handled small than large turkeys, and more handled fresh than frozen turkeys, Appendix Table 9. The 23 per cent of stores that handled fresh small turkeys was the largest proportion to handle any form of turkey. For both small and large turkeys, about 70 per cent of the stores handling fresh turkey also handled frozen turkey. Fresh turkey was available in a greater proportion of stores in Economic Areas 5 and 7-A, but a greater proportion of stores in Economic Area 6 handled frozen turkey. More stores in Economic Areas 2 and 6 handled frozen turkey than handled fresh turkey; approximately twice as many stores in Economic Areas 5 and 7-A handled fresh turkey as handled frozen turkey. Nine out of 10 stores in places of less than 1,000 population did not handle turkeys in any form. A larger proportion of stores MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 13 in places of 1,000 to 2,499 and 5,000 to 9,999 population handled frozen turkey than handled fresh turkey. A relatively greater proportion of stores in the largest places handled fresh turkey, but about three stores out of five in these places did not handle turkeys. Five per cent of the chain stores and 72 per cent of the independents did not handle turkeys. Among stores providing various types of service, turkeys were handled by a larger proportion of those having self-service than by stores providing other types of service. Thirty-three per cent of the stores sold turkeys in some form during some season of the year. However, only 2 per cent stocked turkey throughout the year. An additional 7 per cent of stores sold turkeys on order all SEASONS TURKEYS WERE AVAILABLE. year. Of the stores handling turkeys all year, a greater proportion handled frozen than handled fresh, Appendix Table 10. Approximately three-fourths of the stores sold turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas only. BUYING and HANDLING PRACTICES of RETAIL STORES Buying Practices Few stores handled poultry that was labeled with a specific grade. Nine stores out of 10 handled top quality fresh fryers, and approximately one-third handled fresh fryers having brand names, Appendix Table 4. The proportion of stores handling fresh fryers having no grade or brand name was greatest in Economic Area 2 and least in Economic Area 7-A and was greater among small stores in all areas. Relatively more self-service stores handled graded and brand name fryers. Information reported about stewing chicken and turkey with respect to grade and brand name was essentially the same as that for fresh fryers. Two-thirds of the stores handling stewing chicken and turkeys handled non-graded and non-brand products. GRADE OF POULTRY PURCHASED. How OFTEN DELIVERIES WEREm RECEIVED. Most retail stores received delivery of poultry more often than once each week. Half of the stores could get fresh frying chicken by calling for it when it was needed, Appendix Table 11. The practice of receiving 14 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION delivery one day per week only was used by a higher proportion of the stores in Economic Area 2 than in other areas. Most of the time this one delivery was during the last half of the week. Apparently fresh chicken was as available to small stores as it was to large stores. Fresh chicken could be obtained on call by 45 per cent of the stores having less than $50,000 food sales and by 50 per cent of the stores having $500,000 or more food sales. Relatively more self-service stores received one delivery the first part of the week and one the last half of the week. Among stores providing customer service, relatively more received one delivery during the last half of the week only. Stewing chicken was available on call to 56 per cent of the stores handling it. Deliveries were made twice during a week (once in the first half and once in the last) to 16 per cent of the stores, and one time per week to, 15 per cent. Approximately two-thirds of the stores received deliveries of frozen chicken one time per week. Fourteen per cent could get deliveries when needed. For most stores, there was no regular delivery of turkeys. Both fresh and frozen turkeys were delivered on order as needed at Thanksgiving and Christmas. NUMBER OF FIRMS FROM WHICH POULTRY WAS PURCHASED. Two out of three stores purchased fresh frying chicken from one firm only; 3 per cent purchased from as many as three firms. The proportion of stores purchasing fresh frying chicken from one source varied among areas as shown below: Economic area Percentage purchasing 2 5 6 7-A from one firm 83 75 63 54 In general, the smallest and the largest size stores bought from one firm only. Approximately as many medium size stores purchased fresh poultry from two firms as from a single firm. Three-fourths of the stores handling stewing chicken obtained both fresh frying and stewing chicken from the same supplier. Another 16 per cent bought stewing chicken from one of the suppliers of fresh frying chicken. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 15 Ninety per cent of the stores handling frozen frying chicken purchased from one firm only, and 88 per cent of the stores handling turkeys purchased from one firm. Handling Practices TYPE OF PACK. Fresh poultry was generally ice packed in wirebound wooden crates, without individual wrapping of birds. The type of pack for fresh frying chicken and the proportion of stores receiving each type was as follows: Type of pack Ice-packed in wirebound wooden crates, not individually wrapped Ice-packed in tub or fiber box, not individually wrapped Ice-packed in fiber box or other container, individually wrapped All other receiving 93 2 3 2 Stewing chicken was received by about the same proportion of stores in similar packs. STORAGE OF CHICKEN BEFORE DISPLAY. Upon delivery to retail stores, poultry was handled in a diversity of immediately placed the poultry in a display stored it in a walk-in cooler. Principal means before displaying it and the proportion of method were: Holding facilities Walk-in cooler or freezer Under display case, iced Under display case, not iced Other facility, refrigerators, freezers, ice house Not held, placed in display case Not displayed, held in ice box, cooler, freezer ways. Some stores case, while others of holding chicken stores using each Percentage using 18 23 1 4 31 23 A greater proportion of stores in Economic Area 2 than in other areas placed fresh chicken in display cases immediately after delivery. Fifty per cent of the stores in that area followed this practice, whereas 81 per cent in Economic Area 5, 14 per cent in Area 6, and 35 per cent in Economic Area 7-A followed the practice. Thirty-one per cent of the stores placed fresh poultry in display cases immediately and 39 per cent placed it in display cases 16 TABLE ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 7. PROPORTION OF STORES ACCORDING TO TIME FRESH CHICKEN WAS HELD DISPLAYED, BY SIZE OF STORE, 404 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 BEFORE BEING Proportion holding chicken for different periods Yearly gross food sales No. ofUntilImme2 1 stores day days Pct. 20 35 36 40 50 25 3 days Pct. 7 17 6 0 50 8 Not put diate in disdispl 4 days is sold display play in case case No. Pct. 278 7 Under $ 50,000 $ 50,000-$ 99,999_________ 66 11 $100,000-$299,999.._____________ 48 6 $300,000-$499,999 ............. 40 10 $500,000 and above ........... 2 0 ALL SIZES 404 8 Pct. 8 3 2 0 0 1 Pct. 1 0 0 0 0 1 Pct. 32 19 44 20 0 31 Pct. 80 15 6 0 0 24 within 1 day, Table 7. Only one store with more than $300,000 gross food sales held chicken longer than 2 days before it was displayed. METHOD OF DISPLAYING. Fifty-four per cent of the stores used no ice with their poultry display. There was little variation among areas in following this practice. Among size groups, a greater proportion of the larger stores used iced displays. Fifty-seven per cent of the stores handling turkeys did not display them and 31 per cent displayed them only at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Turkeys were displayed throughout the week during the entire year by 7 per cent of the stores. All of these were self-service stores, and all were in places with more than 5,000 population. In places with less than 5,000 population, there were only 16 stores that displayed turkeys. Eighty-two per cent of the stores displaying turkeys used a refrigerated service meat case and 8 per cent used a refrigerated self-service meat case. How CHICKENS WEREm CUT AT STORE. Fresh chicken was cut up at 38 per cent of the stores. A knife only was used at 58 per cent of the stores cutting fresh chicken, while a knife and cleaver were used at the remainder of the stores. Poultry was cut at all stores having more than $300,000 food sales, while none was cut in three out of four small stores. Among areas, fresh poultry was cut at 19 per cent of the stores in Economic Area 2, 33 per cent in Economic Areas 5 and 6, and 48 per cent in Economic Area 7-A. Approximately two-thirds of the self-service stores and one-third of the others cut up fresh chicken. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 17 PRE-PACKAGING FRYING CHICKEN. Ninety-seven per cent of the stores did no pre-packaging. All that did were large stores, and 8 out of 10 were self-service. SELLING PRACTICES Price Marking Generally, retail stores followed either the practice of price marking all the time, or not marking any of the time. Only onethird of the stores price marked fresh poultry, and 95 per cent of these did so at all times. The proportion of stores price marking poultry is shown by area below: Economic area 2 Percentage 14 5 6 7-A 88 26 38 The proportion of stores price marking poultry increased with an increase in gross food sales: Yearly gross food sales Under $ 50,000 $ 50,000-$ 99,999 $100,000-$299,999 $300,000-$499,999 $500,000 and over Percentage price marking 23 44 61 75 100 Poultry was price marked by 54 per cent of the self-service stores, 24 per cent of the stores providing both service and selfservice, and 26 per cent of those with customer service only. Advertising Most types of advertising media were used at some time for advertising poultry, but three-fourths of the stores never advertised poultry. Window ads and/or posters were used by 8 per cent, and newspapers, window ads, and posters were used by 6 per cent of the stores. Use of radio alone was reported by one store only, but radio was used in combination with other advertising media by 9 per cent of the stores. Only 17 per cent of the stores in Economic Area 2 advertised poultry as compared with 28 per cent in Economic Area 5 and 24 per cent in Economic Areas 6 and 7-A. 18 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION Proportion of stores advertising chicken was related to yearly gross food sales as shown below: Yearly gross food sales Under $ 50,000 $ 50,000-$ 99,999 $100,000-$299,999 $300,000-$499,999 $500,000 and over advertising 10 44 76 100 100 Fresh chicken was advertised by 62 per cent of the self-service stores and 17 per cent of the combination service and self-service stores, but by only 7 per cent of the service stores. Turkeys were advertised by only two out of five stores that sold them. Fifty-seven per cent of the stores that advertised were in the largest towns, while no advertising of turkey was done in the smallest places. Window ads and/or posters were used by 27 per cent of those advertising. Newspapers, radio, window ads, and/or posters were used by another 35 per cent. Newspapers alone were used by 8 pier cent and one store advertised turkeys on television. Turkeys were advertised by a slightly greater proportion of stores in Economic Area 5 than in other areas. Forty-eight per cent of the stores handling turkeys in Economic Area 5 advertised them, as compared with 40 per cent in Economic Area 2 and 31 per cent in Economic Area 7-A. Eight out of 10 stores that advertised turkeys were self-service stores. FREQUENCY OF ADVERTISING. Chicken was advertised weekly in newspapers by 7 per cent and monthly by 5 per cent of the stores handling chicken. Of those that advertised chicken, 51 per cent advertised weekly and 34 per cent monthly. Of the 10 per cent of stores that advertised chicken by radio, 30 per cent advertised weekly and 20 per cent monthly. Stewing chicken was advertised in newspapers by only 8 per cent of the stores through which it was handled. Thirty-eight per cent of these advertised stewing chicken in newspapers every week, 12 per cent every 2 weeks, and 35 per cent at monthly intervals. Of the 4 per cent of stores that advertised stewing chicken over radio, 29 per cent advertised weekly and 36 per cent monthly. One store in Economic Area 5 and one in Economic Area 7-A advertised stewing chicken over radio daily. One store advertised stewing chicken over television weekly. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 19 Turkeys were never advertised. in newspapers by 72 per cent of the stores handling them. Twenty-three per cent advertised small turkeys and 28 per cent advertised large turkeys in newspapers on a weekly basis during holiday seasons only. Seventeen per cent of those handling small turkeys and 22 per cent handling large turkeys advertised weekly over radio during holiday seasons. Advertising of turkey over television was done only during holiday seasons. OTHER INFLUENCING FACTORS Poultry-A Comparatively Profitable Sales Item Eighty-seven per cent of the stores handling poultry found it to be a comparatively profitable item. Operators of 2 per cent of the stores reported it to be very profitable and 3 per cent moderately profitable. Operators of 6 per cent of the stores reported poultry to be an unprofitable item, but gave no reason for its unprofitableness. Among areas, the proportion of store operators reporting poultry to be a profitable item was as follows: Economic area 2 Percentagereporting poultry a profitable item 100 5 6 7-A 86 88 84 Poultry was reported as being a profitable sales item by approximately the same proportion of stores in all size groups, with the exception of stores having above $500,000 annual gross sales: Percentage Yearly gross food sales Under $ 50,000 $ 50,000-$ 99,999 $100,000-$299,999 $300,000-$499,999 $500,000 and over reporting poultry a profitable item 86 88 88 88 100 Poultry was profitable in 87 per cent of the stores having selfservice, 86 per cent with combination service and self-service, and 85 per cent with customer service only. Reasons for Not Handling Poultry The two principal reasons given for not handling fresh whole fryers were slow turnover or no demand and lack of refrigerated 20 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION space. Thirty-eight per cent of the store operators not handling fresh whole fryers gave the first reason and 54 per cent gave the second. Only 4 per cent reported that they were unable to purchase fryers conveniently. Another 4 per cent said they preferred to sell frozen fryers. Store operators in each of the four areas gave these answers in approximately the same proportion. All stores not handling fresh whole fryers had less than $50,000 annual gross sales. Reasons for not handling fresh cut-up fryers and the proportion of store operators are given in Table 8. Relatively more of the operators of small stores gave slow turnover or no demand as the reason, while relatively more operators of larger stores reported that customers preferred fresh fryers not be cut until after purchased. Reasons given by store operators for not handling fresh frying chicken parts were similar to those given for not handling fresh cut-up fryers. Relatively more operators in Economic Area 2 reported lack of equipment and space, and relatively less reported slow turnover and no demand. Otherwise, proportions giving each reason were approximately the same. Although a slightly larger proportion of operators of small stores than of other size stores gave slow turnover and no demand as the reason for not handling fresh frying chicken parts, operators in each size group gave this reason more often than any other. Reasons similar to those given for not handling fresh frying chicken parts were also given for not handling fresh stewing chicken. Three-fourths of all operators not handling fresh stewing chicken gave slow turnover, lack of demand, or do not want to TABLE 8. REASONS GIVEN FOR NOT HANDLING VARIOUS FORMS OF POULTRY AND PROPORTION OF STORE OPERATORS GIVING EACH, FOUR ECONOMIC AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion giving various reasons Fresh Reasons for not handling FryingFrying Frozen fryers Cut-up c parts Turkey hoe chicken Frin chicken parts Pct. Slow turnover, no demand-------Customers prefer fresh whole fryers -19 Lack of time and facilities-------All others 60 16 5 Pct. 68 8 18 6 Pct. 80 -- Pct. 47 19 30 4 Pct. 50 11 84 5 3 17 MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 21 handle as reasons. Another 18 per cent named lack of facilities and space. There were no substantial differences among areas in reasons given for not handling fresh stewing chicken. All of those reporting lack of facilities were in the group of smallest stores. Reasons given for not handling fresh small turkeys and fresh large turkeys were about the same, and were given by approximately the same proportion of store operators. Frozen chicken was not handled in many stores because of lack of facilities, Table 8. Price did not appear to be an important factor, although it may be indirectly reflected in slow turnover. Eighty per cent of the stores not handling frozen turkeys did so because of slow turnover and no demand. Sixteen per cent divided their reasons equally among lack of facilities, customer preference for fresh turkeys, competition from other stores, and preferred to handle fresh turkeys. The remaining 4 per cent gave a variety of other reasons. Display Space for Poultry The most often used refrigerated meat display case was the service-with-storage-underneath type. These were present in 68 per cent of the stores. Approximately 8 per cent of the stores handling fresh and fresh and frozen poultry had both service and self-service display cases with storage underneath. Of the stores that handled no poultry, 93 per cent had no refrigerated meat display case. Three per cent of all stores had self-service display cases, while 85 per cent used the service type, Appendix Table 12. Stores with $300,000 to $499,999 annual gross food sales had TABLE 9. REFRIGERATED MEAT DISPLAY SPACE AND PORTION DEVOTED TO DISPLAY BY ANNUAL GRoss SALES, AVERAGE PER STORE, 417 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 OF POULTRY, Yearly gross food sales Number of stores Number 284 71 50 10 2 417 Refrigerated Refrigerated Proportion meat display ispacy r used for poultry space poultry Sq. ft. 35 48 66 136 120 44 Sq. ft. 3 4 10 17 34 7 Per cent 10 9 16 12 29 16 Under $ 50,000_ $ 50,000-$ 99,999 $100,000-$299,999 $300,000-$499,999 $500,000 and over Total and/or average......... 22 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION four times the amount of refrigerated display space as did stores with less than $50,000 sales, Table 9. The proportion of display space devoted to poultry was about the same in each of these size groups. Stores with $500,000 and above annual food sales used a much greater proportion of their display space for poultry than did other size stores. RELATIONSHIP of VARIOUS FACTORS to SIZE of STORE Estimated total number of customers weekly was lowest in Economic Area 2 and highest in Economic Area 7-A for stores having less than $300,000 food sales, Appendix Table 13. Neither average annual food sales nor average annual sales from meats corresponded with relatively high or low customer numbers. However, there was a relationship among the three sizes of stores having less than $300,000 gross sales. The estimated number of customers for the smallest size store was just about one-half the number estimated for the second size, and one-third the number for the third size of store. This relationship was true in all areas. Where there was a doubling of customer numbers between the smallest and second size stores, gross food sales tripled, and where there was a three-fold increase in customers between the smallest and the third size stores, gross food sales increased almost eight times. This was true in all areas. The response of gross sales of meats to increases in numbers of customers was greater than that of gross food sales. The square feet of space for frozen food was, in most instances, greater in the larger stores. Among areas, stores in Economic Area 5 had the most frozen food space. The amount of refrigerated space for meat display generally increased with the size of store. In small stores there was little difference among areas, but in other store sizes, wide variations occurred in the amount of refrigerated meat display space. The pounds of frozen frying chicken sold per week were greater in the larger stores. There was much variation both among stores of various sizes and among areas. However, the average amount sold by stores in Economic Area 5 in the two smallest size stores was greater than the amount sold in other areas. This ties in with the fact that these stores in Economic Area 5 had more space for frozen food and for refrigerated meat display. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 23 SUMMARY This study was made because it was thought that a potential market for part of the increasing supplies of poultry exisited in small urban areas. It was part of the Southern Regional Poultry Marketing Research Committee's Project on "Expanding the Market for Poultry and Poultry Products." Field work was started in November 1955 and completed in the spring of 1956. Specific objectives were to determine, for non-metropolitan areas, availability of poultry meats in retail stores and current practices in merchandising poultry meats in retail stores, and to evaluate possibilities for developing new market outlets and increasing sales of poultry meats in these areas. Data were collected in four State Economic Areas, Areas 2, 5, 6, and 7-A. Three were selected to represent light, medium, and heavy concentrations of broilers, and data from these areas were to supplement those from other states in the Southern Region. The fourth area was chosen for its different population and farming characteristics. Cities and towns (places) with less than 50,000 population were listed in five size groups, and a 20 per cent sample was chosen from each group. An attempt was made to get information from all retail food stores in each place selected in the sample. Information was obtained from 483 stores in 42 places in the four areas. Fifty-three per cent of all stores handled fresh poultry only, 34 per cent handled fresh and frozen, and 2 per cent handled frozen poultry only. Eleven per cent handled no poultry. These were all independently owned stores. There was no difference between the concentrated and non-concentrated producing areas in the proportion of stores selling fresh whole fryers. Fresh cut-up fryers were handled by no stores in Economic Area 2, and by only 5 per cent of the stores in other areas. Fewer stores handled chicken in this form than in any other form. Fiftysix per cent of all stores handled stewing chicken, 34 per cent handled frozen frying chicken parts, and 16 per cent handled frozen cut-up fryers. Generally, the proportion of stores handling various forms of poultry increased with an increase in size of city. Two out of three store operators reported that there was little difference in sales of fresh chicken among seasons of the year. 24 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION When a difference was reported, summer was given as the season of greatest sales. Approximately 8 out of 10 stores offered fresh poultry for sale 6 days during the week. The proportion was lowest in Economic Area 2, where one store out of four offered fresh poultry on Friday and Saturday only. Almost all stores that did not offer fresh poultry for sale 6 days during the week were in the smallest size group. Fresh small turkeys were handled by 23 per cent of the stores, and fresh large turkeys by 18 per cent. For both small and large turkeys, about half the proportion of stores handling fresh turkey handled frozen turkey also. Nine out of 10 stores in places of less than 1,000 population did not handle turkeys in any form; approximately 3 out of 5 stores in the largest places did not handle turkeys. Of the stores selling turkeys, approximately 70 per cent sold them at Thanksgiving and Christmas only. Half the stores could get delivery of fresh chicken on call and most received deliveries more often than once each week. Fresh chicken was as available to small stores as to large stores. There was no regular delivery of turkeys. Ninety-three per cent of the stores received fresh chicken packed in ice in wirebound wooden crates, without individual birds being wrapped. The method by which fresh poultry was handled after delivery to the retail store varied widely. The practice reported most often was that of placing the poultry in a display case immediately. Fifty-four per cent of the stores used no ice with their poultry displays. Fresh chicken was not cut up at 62 per cent of the stores and there was no pre-packaging at 97 per cent. Price-marking fresh poultry was a practice of only one-third of the stores. Only 54 per cent of the self-service stores price-marked poultry. Chicken was not advertised by three-fourths of the stores. Window ads and/or posters were the advertising media used most often. Turkeys were advertised by two out of five stores that handled them, but no advertising of turkeys was done by stores in the smallest places. MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 25 CONCLUSIONS Results of this study show that poultry meat was as available in non-concentrated producing areas as in concentrated producing areas, and was available to small retail stores. The 11 per cent of stores not selling poultry were smallest in size and should not be encouraged to handle poultry with their inadequate facilities for maintaining quality. The proportion of larger and more adequately equipped stores that were offering cut-up fryers and fresh frying chicken parts was low. Stores handling fresh whole fryers as the only form of poultry meat might have substantially increased their sales of poultry by offering both chicken and turkey in a variety of forms. Where facilities were adequate, fresh whole fryers were being offered to consumers throughout the week and during all seasons of the year. While stewing chicken and turkey may be desired less often than fresh frying chicken, sale of these meats probably could be increased if they were handled by more stores and for an increased proportion of the year. An enlarged and continuing advertising program for poultry was needed by stores in small towns and cities. Statements by a great number of store managers that "turnover" of poultry meats was slow and that there was no demand suggest that better merchandising is needed. Manufacturers are taking care of merchandising for most processed products. Large retailing organizations provide their retail units with ideas and materials for both advertising and merchandising. The poultry industry might well find it advantageous to develop methods and materials for assisting retailers in their efforts to carry out effective merchandising programs for processed poultry meats. 26 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION 26 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION APPENDIX APPENDIX TABLE 1. NUMBER OF PLACES BY SIZE OF CITY AND PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES, BY ECONOMIC AREA AND SIZE OF CITY, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Number Proportion of stores, by economic area Size of City of All places 2 5 6 7-A Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent 18 18 21 14 27 21 Under 1,000------------------13 10 22 11 12 9 1,000- 2,499-----------------13 8 18 11 24 5 2,500- 4,999-------------------19 21 15 15 37 4 5,000- 9,999-------------------. 37 43 24 49 0 3 10,000-49,999-------------------. TOTAL 100 100 100 100 42 ---------------------------100 APPENDIX TABLE 2. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES BY ECONOMIC AREA AND YEARLY GROSS FOOD SALES, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of stores, by economic area Yearly gross food sales 2 5 6 7- All ars Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Under $ 50,000---------------------------$ 50,000-s $300,000-$499,999 99,999 -------------- 67 20 10 3 0 73 15 9 2 1 60 18 16 2 4 74 13 10 3 0 72 15 10 2 1 $100,000-$299,999 -------------- -------------- $500000-above----------------- APPENDIX TABLE 3. PROPORTION OF STORES PROVIDING VARIOUS TYPES OF SERVICE, BY ECONOMIC AREAS, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Type of customer service Number Proportion of stores, by economic area of 7-A 6 5 2 stores Per cent Per cent Per cent Per cent Self-service .------------------Combination ------------------- 109 176 15 51 30 36 22 44 16 23 Service-----------------------TOTAL .--------------------- 198 483 34 100 34 100 34 100 56 100 MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 27 MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 2 APPENDIX TABLE 4. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES ACCORDING TO YEARLY GROSS FOOD SALES AND TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Yearly gross food sales Number of stores Proportion with each type service Self- Combina- Service service tion 9 Number Per cent Per cent Per cent Under $ 50,000----------8-----------_ -------- 346 71 $ 50,000-$ 99,999--------------------------50 $100,000-$299, 999 -----------35 74 88 48 24 53 17 2 $300,000-$499,999---------- ---$500,000-above----------------------------------------- 10 90 10 0 6 100 0 0 APPENDIX TABLE 5. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES BY SIZE OF CITY AND TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Type of customer service Under 1,000 Proportion of stores, by size of city 1,0002,5005,00010,0002,499 4,999 9,999 49,999 All cities Pct. 63 Service_______________________________ Pct. 31 Pet. 27 Pet. 23 39 Pet. 26 34 Pet. 23 5 31 Self-service -----------------------28 45 Combination ----32 38 100 TOTAL __________________________ 100 100 38 40 86 41 100 100 100 APPENDIX TABLE 6. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTIoN OF STORES ACCORDING TO THE SEASON WHEN MOST FRYING CHICKEN WAS SOLD, BY ECONOMIC AREA AND SIZE OF STORE, 422 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Category Namher of Proportion of stores reporting most sales, by season of year Spring Fall Little Splgmer stores Spin SumPet. 22 9 11 Fall Wintrsm and mer and winter ence differPet. 72 67 78 No. Economic area 2-------------------------- Pet. 0 4 0 Pet. 0 6 0 Pet. Pet. 0 4 3 Pet. 0 2 2 5---------------------------6 -----------------------------Under $50)000 36 159 103 6 8 6 7-A---------------------Size of store $ 50,000-s 129 290 71 49 7 5 1 4 13 11 17 12 5 3 3 4 3 3 1 6 7 5 12 8 2 1 1 5 63 72 65 59 99,999 ----------$100)000-$299,999 ----------$300,000-$499,999._________$500,000 and above----------ALL CATEGORIE ____________ ----------- 10 2 0 0 20 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 70 100 422 4 12 4 3 6 2 69 28 APPENDIX TABLE 7. TYPE OF SERVICE, ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION PROPORTION OF STORES HANDLINb FRESH FRYERS, ACCORDING TO DAYS OF WEEK OFFERED FOR SALE, BY ECONOMIC AREA, SIZE OF STORE, AND 429 RETAIL FOOD STORES, FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of stores offering fresh fryers, by days of week Num- Category Mon. her of stores Tues. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Pct. 58 81 76 83 72 94 94 100 100 96 80 65 79 Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Pct. 3 3 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 3 2 Fri. Fri. Sat. Sat. Other combinations of days Pct. 6 2 7 5 5 0 2 0 0 1 3 10 4 No. Economic area 2------------------------------ -----5 6 7-A Size of store Under $ 50,000------$ 50,000-$ 99,999------$100,000-$299,999....... $300,000-$499,999------$500,000 and above-----Type of service Self-service Combination Service -154 ALL CATEGORIES....... Pct. 8 2 5 5 6 2 0 0 0 2 2 8 4 Pct. 25 11 12 3 13 3 2 0 0 1 12 13 10 Pct. 0 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 36 8-156 103 134 296 71 50 10 2 107 168 429 m I APPENDIX TABLE 8. PROPORTION OF STORES AND PROPORTION OF FRESH FRYERS SOLD NOT CUT-UP, BY SIZE OF STORE, AREA, PERIOD OF WEEK, 892 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR ECONOMIC AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 AND Proportion of stores and fryers sold not cut-up, by size of store Ecnoic area .a a odUfi-I m Under $50,000 $50,000-$99,999 $100,000-$299,999 $300,000-$499,999 $500,000-above Pct. ,rr of stores Pct. Pct. of fryers 20 20 Pct. of stores 24 18 Pct. of fryers 27 18 Pct. of stores 12 10 Pct. fryers 43 36 of Pct. stores 3 2 of Pct. fryers 10 19 of stores 0 2 of Pct. fryers 0 7 0 0 3 0 10 0 0 4 of 0 a First half of week 2------------------------------------------ ----- 5-------------------------------6 ------------------------------7-A ---------------------------- All areas-------------------------Last half of week 2 ------------------------------5 ------------------------------6-------------------------------7-A---------------------------- All areas------------------------- 61 68 60 71 66 45 60 48 67 59 21 26 22 13 13 15 24 17 20 14 18 32 24 25 18 23 16 15 17 32 15 22 20 19 18 12 13 18 11 24 11 45 41 40 47 39 49 39 42 2 3 2 5 3 3 4 3 18 18 18 8 23 14 17 18 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 14 L% 30 30 ALABAMA AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION APPENDIX TABLE 9. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES HANDLING VARIOUS FORMS OF TURKEY MEAT BY ECONOMIC AREA, SIZE OF CITY, AND TYPE OF SERVICE, 483 RETAIL FOOD STORKS, FoUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of stores, by form of Category Number of stores Fresh small turkey Pct. 10 28 13 25 turkey handled Frozen Fresh small large Frozen large turkey Pct. 17 11 27 12 turkey Pct. 10 20 11 21 turkey Pct. 12 9 24 11 No. Economic area 2---------------------5 --------------------------------------6 ---------------------7-A ------------------------------------41 186 104 152 Size of city Under 1,000 ------------------------ 5 - 86 8 2 3 1,000- 2,499 -----------------------------------64 16 19 8 16 2,500- 4,999 -_________________________________ 62 23 21 18 18 5,000- 9,999 ---------------------------------90 14 20 11 14 10,00 0-50,000 -------------------------15 181 39 31 14 Type of service Self-service .______________________________________109 44 38 37 36 Combination .____________________________________- 11 198 22 11 9 Service ------ALL CATEGORIES _------------------- -----------176 14 6 13 18 4 13 -------------------------483 23 16 APPENDIX TABLE 10. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES HANDLING TURKEYS ACCORDING TO PERIODS OF YEAR WHEN HANDLED, BY FORM OF TURKEY HANDLED, 828 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Nubr Form of turkey sold NumerThnks Proportion of stores, by period turkey handled Thanksgiving hnk-On order All of stores giving hisChrst Thanksgiin On and ger gn order all Christmas Pct. 29 32 year Christmas, on Other order rest of year Pct. Fresh small--_. Fresh Frozen small-__ Frozen large large ----84 74 63 No. 107 Pct. 4 4 Pct. 47 44 Pct. 4 2 13 17 Pct. 3 1 12 13 61 59 15 19 1 1 4 8 7 0 MARKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 31 M~RKETING POULTRY MEAT in ALABAMA 3 APPENDIX TABLE 11. PROPORTION OF STORES RECEIVING FRESH FRYING CHICKEN ACCORDING TO TIME OF DELIVERY, BY ECONOMIC AREAS, SIZE OF STORE, AND TYPE OF CUSTOMER SERVICE, 426 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of stores, by time of fryer delivery Category Number of stores Weekly First of week Twice Three weekly, or more days Last first and each of week -last of week week On call, when needed No. Economic area 5 Pct. 6 Pct. 44 Pct. 22 Pct. 0 Pct. 28 2 ---------------------- 36 -------------- ---------------------------------------159 2 14 16 6 62 6 --------------------97 8 28 23 5 36 7-A ------------------134 18--------------1 12 21 26 40 Size of store Under $ 50,000------$ 50,000-$ 99,999--_---$100,000-$299,999 ---------$300,000-$499,999---------294 71 49 10 3 4 2 0 23 11 19 20 10 11 45 54 8 10 0 8 20 26 19 21 0 0 25 18 16 30 50 13 9 53 60 50 52 49 $500,000 and over------------2 0 Type of customer service Self-service-----------------------106 2 Combination -------------------168 Service-----------------------------152 4 ,4 18 19 12 12 40 47 ALL CATEGORIES -----426 3 APPENDIX TABLE 12. PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF STORES ACCORDING TO TYPE OF REFRIGERATED MEAT DISPLAY CASE, BY SIZE OF STORE, 397 RETAIL FOOD STORES IN FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 1956 Proportion of stores, by type of refrigerated meat Number Number display case Selfservice Service and self- Service service Pet. Pct. a 95 Yearly gross food sales of stores No. Pct. 2 $ 50,000-s 99,999---------------------$100,000-$299,999---------------------$300,000-$499,999 Under $ 50,000--------------------- 265 71 49 10 2 1 8 20 50 21 37 60 50 78 55 20 -- ----------------------- $500,000-over-----------------------Total and/or average------------------ 397 3 12 85 APPENDIX TABLE 13. SELECTED ITEMS RELATED TO SIZE OF STORE, BY ECONOMIC AREA, FOUR AREAS OF ALABAMA, 19561 Item Estimated total customers weekly ItemUnit Unitarea Number Economic Resultant, by size of store (measured by food sales) Less than $50,000$100,000$300,000$500,000 $50,000 $99,999 $299,999 $499,999 and over 2 550 1100 1600 5 603 1109 1856 4500 5000 6 616 1078 1767 2000 7-A 689 1288 2150 2900 Average yearly gross Thousand 2 23 68 176 491 food sales dollars 5 20 62 167 307 562 6 25 70 174 356 7-A 21 60 165 320 Average yearly gross Thousand 2 3 15 47 88 sales of meats dollars 5 4 17 46 87 178 6 6 19 58 152 7-A 6 18 51 84 Percentage of total meat Per cent 2 7 8 6 8 sales from poultry 5 8 12 11 22 19 6 8 9 10 18 7-A 9 9 10 11 Square feet of space Feet 2 11 17 12 18 for frozen food 5 15 22 29 42 38 6 14 11 18 7-A 18 15 24 31 Square feet of refrigerated Feet 2 34 57 48 36 space for meat display 5 36 59 86 196 120 6 30 41 62 95 7-A 37 36 54 137 Average amount of frozen Pounds 2 8 17 45 8 frying chicken sold per week 5 16 24 87 37 58 6 15 16 82 46.. 7-A 14 12 81 42 1 Number of stores supplying information varied for the different items. The numbers are as follows: average yearly gross food sales, 450; average yearly gross sales of meats, 416; estimated total customers weekly, 289; square feet of space for frozen food, 174; square feet of refrigerated space for meat display, 417; and average amount of frozen frying chicken sold per week, 150.