Strategic management for community-based markets: From consumers’ perspectives and experiences

Abstract

This study used a consumer survey to identify resources and services that are important to farmers’ market (FM) shoppers. The questionnaire was distributed onsite in six FMs in Tennessee, and a total of 506 FM shoppers responded. The most important resources and services in terms of a shopper’s decision to visit a FM are identified as supporting local food, quality, friendly, and diverse vendors, and food origin. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) reveals that convenience and close to home are more important to women; price is more important to younger and lower-income shoppers, while quality, convenience, interaction with farmers/producers, and food origin are more important to older shoppers. Content analysis indicated that FM shoppers were impressed with FM atmosphere and liked the quality, variety, and convenience provided by FMs, but disliked not having clear information such as product labels and websites.