Case Study
Farm-fresh food delivered to your door by artisans and local farmers
Many farmers rely on farmers markets or local restaurants for product sales. With the recent impact of COVID-19 many farmers have experienced a dramatic decrease in product sales.
Farmers market sales in Canada exceeded 1.5 billion dollars in 2019.
Consumers spend on average 32 dollars when visiting a farmers market.
How Might We encourage customers to buy locally. In order to help farmers sell products safely during the COVID 19 pandemic?
Empathize with the potential users
Farmers & Market Customers
The primary focus was farmers that were affected by the pandemic. Equally as important market customers had changed the way they shop and I also needed to consider this change in behavior. One on one zoom interviews were conducted with five participants from both groups.
What farmers had to say
They experienced a decrease in sales and a surplus of produce. Many farmers wanted to offer their products for sale online but needed assistance with this. Farmers were willing to coordinate the pickup and delivery of orders in order to accommodate their customers.
What customers had to say
They increased online shopping during COVID-19. Most customers stated that in the past six months they have purchased from local farmers. Customers wanted to support local farms while also following social distancing recommendations.
Personas
Based on the user interviews we created two personas that represent our users. The first persona represents the farmers that will use the product. The second Persona represents market customers that will shop in the online farmers market.
Ideation
To solve the problems of Gregory and Maggie I determined that a local eCommerce farmers market would be the best solution. The platform would allow Gregory to list his products, set pricing, manage inventory, and offer shipping or pickup options. Maggie would benefit from the ability to shop for fresh produce from local farmers. While staying safe at home during the pandemic.
Design Process
The process of designing this solution started with wireframes. Following this we introduced the wireframes to potential users and modified them for optimal usability. Finally hi-fidelity mockups were created using the brand colour pallet.
