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National Christmas Tree Association, Inc.
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Consumer Survey Results
All figures are for U.S. households only. We do not have state by state data. Error range is +/- 3.1%.
RETAIL MARKET VALUE - 2008
| TREE TYPE |
MEAN AVERAGE DOLLARS SPENT |
NUMBER PURCHASED |
RETAIL VALUE ($) |
| Real Trees |
$36.50 |
28.2 million |
$1.03 billion |
| fake trees |
$60.63 |
11.7 million |
$709 million |
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
- These figures are from the annual consumer tracking poll commissioned by NCTA and conducted by Harris Interactive.
- Note: Mean dollars spent is NOT a measurement of the average price/cost of trees. It is only a measurement of what consumers taking the poll spent on the trees they purchased.
PRE-CUT VS. CUT YOUR OWN
| |
% of all trees purchased |
| Pre-Cut |
80% |
| Cut My Own |
20% |
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
- Pre-cut trees may be purchased at a variety of locations, including retail lots, garden centers, chain stores, Choose & Cut farms, nonprofit groups and over the Internet.
- "Cut my own" is a tree cut down and purchased at a Choose & Cut farm, where it is grown by the farmer.
CHRISTMAS TREE PURCHASE FIGURES SINCE 2002
(In millions)
| |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Real |
22.2 |
23.4 |
27.1 |
32.8 |
28.6 |
31.3 |
28.2 |
| fake |
7.4 |
9.6 |
9.0 |
9.3 |
9.3 |
17.4 |
11.7 |
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
- The 2008 poll results show that consumers in the U.S. purchased 28.2 million farm-grown Christmas trees and 11.7 million artificial trees. Both are declines from 2007, with the fake tree category showing the steeper decline of 35%, while real trees were down about 10%.
- Many factors can influence total trees purchased, including harvest conditions, weather conditions, number of consumers traveling for the holidays and even the number of days between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
MEAN AVERAGE DOLLARS SPENT
Note: This is NOT a measurement of the average price/cost of trees.
| |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Real |
$32.90 |
$33.80 |
$42.60 |
$41.90 |
$40.50 |
$41.00 |
$36.50 |
| Fake |
$71.20 |
$68.80 |
$96.50 |
$72.20 |
$68.00 |
$71.60 |
$60.63 |
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
- This number reflects the price that consumers report spending on the tree that they purchased. It is NOT an average sales price OF trees.
- Both product categories saw consumers spending less than they had on individual trees purchased. Average amount spent on a farm-grown tree was $36.50 while consumers spent $60.63 on average for the fake kind.
- Regarding the decline from 2007, NCTA president and Washington grower Mark Steelhammer said, "“It’s hard to point to a specific cause. While many will just blame ‘the economy,’ our agricultural product’s retail value is naturally volatile once it hits the retail level because of the condensed sales season.”
WHERE PEOPLE BUY REAL TREES
| LOCATION |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Choose & Harvest Farm |
27% |
22% |
29% |
21% |
31% |
| Nursery/Garden Center |
19% |
17% |
15% |
20% |
11% |
Chain Store
(Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.) |
16% |
19% |
19% |
23% |
24% |
| Retail Lot |
13% |
19% |
25% |
12% |
7% |
Non-profit Group
(Boy Scouts, churches, etc.) |
8% |
12% |
9% |
9% |
18% |
| Internet |
N/A |
N/A |
4% |
N/A |
N/A |
| Other |
13% |
7% |
9% |
15% |
9% |
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
- As seen here, location of Real Tree purchases can vary from year to year.
- In regards to the 2008 season, NCTA president and Washington grower Mark Steelhammer said, "“We heard from many of the small Choose & Cut farms especially, that that segment had a strong year in spite of the overall decline."
- Anecdotally, NCTA has heard of an increase in Internet/online purchases -- but these figures are still below the error range, and so they don't appear in the numbers.
PLAN TO PURCHASE FOR 2009 (in percentage of U.S. households)
| Real Tree |
35% |
| Fake Tree |
9% |
WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN
- In 2009, consumers were asked about their purchase intentions for the coming holiday season.
- “The good news for us family farms growing Christmas trees,” said NCTA President Mark Steelhammer, “is 35% said they planned to buy a farm-grown Christmas Tree, so we should be very busy this year.”
- It is estimated that Christmas tree farms in North America planted about 42 million new tree seedlings in the winter/spring of 2009 to replace harvested crops and meet future increased demand.
Source: Consumer Surveys commissioned by NCTA. For more information, visit the NCTA Media Center.
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