IMPROVING FARMERS MARKET RETURNS FOR MEAT VENDORS USING POINT-OF-SALE CUSTOMER DATA
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Until recently, lack of detailed customer transaction data at farmers markets prevented strategic vendor decision making. However, emerging point-of-sale technologies adapted to farmers markets address this limitation. We collect point-of-sale data from over 24,000 customer transactions in 2021 from 10 livestock farms and 22 farmers markets in New York State. We find that payment type, sale hour, product differentiation, and customer density significantly influence customer transaction size. Marginal expenditure effects on over 30 meat product categories across seven livestock species provide valuable information on alternative product offerings and pricing. The number of product groups (species) offered by vendors increases transaction size, but the level of individual meat item variety is only important for vendors with a limited number of species. The results provide a useful tool for farmers to improve decision-making based on their customers' behavior; however, marketing adjustments must be considered in the context of their costs of implementation.