FRESH PRODUCE VALUATION IN PORTUGUESE TRADITIONAL FOOD MARKETS: CONSUMER PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

In Portugal, traditional food markets have shown a decrease in popularity, mostly because of the growth of organized retailing and increased globalization. Attempts have been made to find what motivates consumers to purchase locally produced foods. The objective of this work was the characterization of consumers from Portuguese traditional food markets, and the identification of their attitudes and perceptions towards those markets. The final aim was to identify opportunities and challenges of traditional food markets' retailers. Interviews were conducted with consumers at traditional food markets from all over Portugal. One hundred forty-four consumers were asked about their shopping profile, reasons to visit the market, overall degree of satisfaction, as well as socio-economic characteristics. The most bought products on traditional food markets are fresh fruits and vegetables followed by fresh fish and flowers. The main reasons pointed out by consumers to visit these markets are produce freshness (60%) price/quality relationship, i.e., a low price for a certain quality (34%) and the price of traditional products (34%). Moreover, results suggest an overall degree of satisfaction with traditional markets, showing that with an adequate communication strategy more consumers could be allured to them.