October 2020 - 26

FARM MARKET & AGRITOURISM
Monitor shifting purchasing patterns to grow business
For many years, large retailers have
BRIAN MOYER
Penn State Extension
bfm3@psu.edu
A recent report from The Food
Industry Association and The
Hartman Group stated that " nearly all
families (87%) report eating together
as important and the COVID-19
pandemic has only amplified this
value. Some younger shoppers, namely
48% of Gen Z and millennials, say
they are eating healthier during the
pandemic. Forty-one percent of
shoppers surveyed report cooking
more and 42% are minimizing trips to
the store or using perishables before
they spoil. Before the pandemic nearly
all (90%) grocery shoppers reported
dinning out sometimes, but during
March and April only 45% of shoppers
reported utilizing restaurant delivery
while 35% reported cooking at home
six to seven days a week. "
Of the consumers that were
surveyed, one in four say they will
continue to shop for groceries online.
I know that what I'm about to suggest
adopted the " just in time " or " lean
inventory " systems developed by the
Japanese auto manufacturing industry.
Most of the retailers ignored a key
component of the system that is to
have a plan B in your supply chain.
You can be sure these companies
are developing a plan B for if and
when plan A, for whatever reason, is
disrupted again.
So, what is your plan B? Since we are
is easier said than done particularly
during the busy growing season but
at some point, you need take a look at
your sales records for this year to date
and compare it to last year's sales over
the same time period. What are your
customers purchasing compared to
last year? How much has the pandemic
influenced what and how much your
customers purchase? Understanding
the change in purchasing or shopping
habits can help us make decisions
around our supply chains so we can
have a consistent stock.
Build resiliency into your supply
chain. As consumer demand increased
for farmers to sell direct to the
consumer, some farms that originally
wholesaled to retail farm markets pulled
product to meet their own demands.
This left the retail farm market without
that product. Looking for ways to
diversify our supply chains will mean
you won't be left without product.
seeing some new customers in our farm
markets, we want to be able to keep
them coming back to our market and
anyone working in retail can tell you
that you need products that are good
quality, fair priced, and a consistent
supply. If our plan A has some kind of
disruption in our key products, is there
a replacement supplier who can quickly
fill that gap, so our customers don't
lose confidence in our ability to have a
consistent supply?
We are still seeing some empty
shelves in retail stores but farm
markets have an advantage of having
very short supply chains. We need
to capitalize on that advantage and
diversify our suppliers or at the
very least, start developing those
relationships. VGN
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October 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2020
