Factors Affecting Consumer Purchasing Decisions and Willingness to Pay for Oysters in South Carolina

South Carolina oyster producers are looking to expand into other sales channels and need more marketing data to support their efforts. A survey in the South Carolina marketing area (n = 1210) indicates that South Carolina oyster consumers tend to be younger, Caucasian, live in coastal counties, have higher household incomes, and prefer eating oysters at restaurants. Consumers willing to pay higher prices for oysters to eat at home tend to be younger, female, have higher household incomes, and are not Caucasian. Availability, price, and food safety concerns were the top three reasons preventing consumers from buying more oysters at restaurants.