Promoting farmers market via information nudges and coupons: A randomized control trial

Farmers markets, an important direct-to-consumer market, have shown signs of declining sales since 2007. This trend has raised concern about their future viability, inciting stakeholders to consider new marketing and development approaches. Unfortunately, the literature on these approaches is largely qualitative, with little empirical or experimental evidence assessing impact or effectiveness. We present results from a randomized control trial measuring the efficacy of an informational nudge-a mailed coupon-in attracting new customers to a winter farmers market in Northern Colorado. Previous research identified perceived lack of product assortment at farmers markets as a major barrier to consumer attendance; accordingly, half of the coupons in our experiment emphasized the wide range of products sold at the market, while the control coupons presented general market information. We mailed 6000 physical coupons redeemable for $10 to randomly selected households in Fort Collins, Colorado, during the 2017-2018 market season. One hundred and eleven coupons were redeemed (1.85%), of which 58 were treatment and 53 control. While the coupon was somewhat effective at attracting new customers (36% had never attended the winter farmers market), there were no statistically significant differences in redemption rates between treatment and control. We thus find that the information nudge was not enough to influence the decision to attend the winter farmers market. EconLit citations: Q13, Q18.

Automated summary

Farmers markets have experienced declining sales since 2007, leading stakeholders to consider new marketing and development approaches. A randomized control trial measuring the efficacy of a mailed coupon in attracting new customers to a winter farmers market showed some effectiveness, but did not significantly impact attendance decisions.