Why Farm Markets Need Great Merchandising [Opinion]

By Carol Miller|May 8, 2018

I’ve toured a lot of farm markets the past couple of years and noticed a troubling pattern. Produce is gorgeously displayed — color-blocked, stacked high, and just begging to be purchased.

But the rest of the farm market? It’s often dark and overcrowded.

And honestly, I understand how that happens. To most growers, merchandising is the least important part of farm marketing. It’s something family members or enthusiastic staff take a stab at to pretty things up. But it’s not on par with growing, pricing, parking, labor, and all the other retail-related tasks.

The idea of bringing in a professional merchandiser seems like a waste of money.

But I think its something you should seriously consider. Merchandising is about making more money, not about looking pretty. Done right, it’s designed to increase purchases per visit, build trust in your brand, and entice customers to make more return trips.

Putting It to the Test

I have to admit I was skeptical about the value of merchandising at one point. So I decided to run an experiment.

I recruited Joe Baer, a visual merchandiser who has some impressive clients, from Tiffany & Co. to Target. Rick Vuyst, who owns Flowerland, a small garden center chain with three locations in Grand Rapids, MI, volunteered one of his locations for the experiment.

On that day, garden retailers from across the country came in for our workshop. Baer taught them the basics of merchandising, and after each lesson, the retailers were set loose on the garden center to apply what they just learned.

By the end of the day, we had given that location a makeover.

The most important part of this experiment took place over the next two to three months. Vuyst tracked how sales at the transformed store performed against his other two stores.

All three stores had the same weather, advertising, and established customer volume patterns. The location where we conducted the makeover was his middle-performing store, sales wise, historically speaking.

The results? Sales increased 30% overall. The department that had the most dramatic makeover — plant containers — saw a whopping 78.9% increase during the same period the other two stores saw a decrease in sales (7% and 11% down).

Merchandising matters. You just may want to consider doing your own experiment with your produce, your bakery — anything you sell in your market. See how much you can achieve.

Oh, One More Thing…

We took a lot of photos during our merchandising experiment. Here are a few highlights you’ll want to check out.

Pottery-department-at-Flowerland-after-makeover-SLIDESHOW

Color blocking isn’t just for produce. It always creates a strong visual impact. Prior to this makeover, pots were on the ground and not well organized. No wonder sales increased by 78.9%!