@article{Rosa:100459,
      recid = {100459},
      author = {Rosa, Franco},
      title = {Short Chain in FVG Region: An Evaluation of the Customer  Satisfaction at the  “Farmer’s Shopping Points”},
      address = {2010-10},
      number = {1018-2016-81662},
      pages = {20},
      year = {2010},
      abstract = {Farmer market, farmer shops, milk dispenser, 0‐Km are some  of the new born initiatives for trading  agricultural
products at (or near) the farm gate, now  spreading in EU‐USA; their purpose is to offer to the  farmers the
chance to trade directly their products, and  offer to the consumers new shopping opportunities  alternatives to
conventional food marketing outlets. This  study was addressed to test the customer satisfaction at  the farmers’
shops created by a farmer cooperative. The  experiment was performed in Friuli VG a North‐East region  of Italy,
with a survey using a questionnaire submitted to  a number of customers randomly selected at the end of  their
shopping. The customer satisfaction (CS) was  evaluated with the SERQUAL procedure consisting in  measuring
the discrepancy between consumer’s perception and  expectation of their shopping experience. The  results
suggested the following observations: the majority  of customers was over 50’s, with an income less than  20
thousand €; they appreciated the variety and origin of  the products and criticized the scarcity of space  inside
the shopping, parking and payment facilities. The  frequency of shopping varied from once or twice a week  to
once a month while the average expenditure at farmers’  shops varied between 20‐25 € per visit. The usual  food
shopping was made at different market stores (from two  to four) but most of the food budget was spent at the
LD  (Large distribution). Eight different consumer’s profiles  were elaborated based on the results of the CS using
the  cluster analysis. Compared to other retailing facilities,  consumers generally expected to find a better food
quality,  lower prices and were not strongly concerned about brand  and packaging strategies, more important at
the LD  shopping. Quality, freshness and courtesy were the mostly  appreciated attributes of this shopping
experience, while  critics were addressed to the scarcity of space inside the  shops, difficulties in parking,
payment facilities and  market visibility},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/100459},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.100459},
}