“Direct Farming” mobile app
A platform for local farmers to offer their products.
Farmer-to-consumer direct purchases.
Individual project I March 2021
My role: Research, concept development, UX design
INTRO
"Farmers Market" - a digital platform that unites all farmers who offer fresh products and a delivery to the customer's house. This is an opportunity for the farmer to expose his farm to lots of new customers and sell his products without intermediaries. For the consumer - the app introduces the local farmers and allows to enjoy fresh and high quality products
THE PROBLEM
The consumer brokerage gaps in agricultural products have created a need for alternative trade methods
In recent years, many farmers in Israel have run into economic difficulties. Part of the problem is marketing companies are using their power, paying farmers little for their products and selling it at an expensive price to the consumers. Many farmers are looking for other marketing solutions such as - direct social farming, selling agricultural products directly from the farmer to the consumer, without intermediaries. The Israeli Farmers' Association estimates that direct sales currently account for more than 8% of the market. This has created a need for a platform that unites all farmers and consumers interested in direct farming.
THE CHALLENGES
-
Creating an efficient and easy-to-use platform for direct social agriculture.
-
Creating a "community" of users who support local agriculture.
USER RESEARCH
What are the farmers and customers needs?
In the user research I interviewed five farmers who sell their products by direct farming.
I interviewed consumers who buy farmers' products directly from farmers.
The purpose of the interviews was to understand what their needs are and what difficulties they are experiencing in the process today.
Avi
62, Farmer
I'm currently looking for ways to market myself as a farmer who sells directly to the customer - at the moment it mostly passes between friends and a bit on social media. Unfortunately it doesn't reach as many people as I would like.
Noa
48, Direct farming consumer
I have been ordering vegetables and fruits directly from a farmer for several months. The problem is that their website does not work well, it is complicated and sometimes I get confused and the order doesn't arrive as I wanted
Yael
34, Direct farming consumer
During the Corona lockdown, "Direct Farming" has become very popular in our community. There is someone who organizes group orders, he collects orders from everyone ... it saves us delivery fees and everyone benefits and enjoys great products!
USER RESEARCH- QUESTIONNAIRE
I published an online questionnaire for consumers, to get quantitative information on consumer behavior in the context of direct farming.
*From a questionnaire I published for consumers
Do you buy directly from the farmers?
What prevents you from buying directly from farmers?
MARKET RESEARCH
What exists and what can be improved
In the market research I examined which applications are leading in the market. What products does the target audience use - both consumers and farmers, what can be learned from them and what needs to be improved.
The main apps in the field
PAIN POINTS
PAIN POINT #1
Most apps offer buying products only from farmers who have joined together as a union and therefore doesn't allow buying from a specific farmer.
PAIN POINT #2
It is not possible to create group orders, an action common among consumers of direct farming.
PAIN POINT #3
Neither positive nor negative feedback is available about the farmers from consumers.
There is no sense of community and personal connection between farmers and consumers during the shopping experience.
PAIN POINT #4
CONCLUSIONS AND INSIGHTS
The app should create a sense of personal connection between the farmer and the consumer - knowing the person behind the business.
The app should be an accessible platform for any farmer who wants to market through it. Introduce to the consumer the farmers that are available for him - with a simple option for search and filtering.
The user experience should give a sense of belonging to the community, connection between users, possibility to leave feedback. Includes group orders feature.
The app should be efficient and simple to use. A fun shopping experience.
THE SOLUTION
"Farmer's Market"- Direct Farming app
A platform that unites all farmers who offer products in direct farming with delivery to the customer's house. The app allows every farmer to market his products on an interactive and efficient platform, an online farmers market. For the consumer - the app allows to get to know the local farmers and order directly from them the freshest agricultural products, without refrigerators in the supermarket.
Target audience
Customers aged 15-80
Farmers aged 18-80
The value
Strengthening local farmers. Providing an effective solution for the purchase of agricultural products for customers
The goal
Creating a community of users in the direct farming app
ARCHITECTURE
A simple and efficient structure that allows the consumer to see all the farmers in his area, to filter by category, receive information about the farmer and purchase in a short linear process. The shopping baskets can be saved to shorten the process next time. Consumer can create or join group orders in a short and efficient process.
HOW IT WORKS
Farmer's list page
List of local farmers who are at a reasonable distance to make a delivery to your address. The user can filter the list by the categories menu or search for a specific farmer or product. Clicking on the farmer will open details about him, user reviews and contact details. This is designed to create a personal connection between the user and the farmer behind the business.
Click to play
HOW IT WORKS
Fill the basket - purchase products
On the farmer's page you can see the list of products he offers for sale. Products can be purchased by Drag & Drop into the basket. Each product you add you can visually see in your shopping basket and in the shopping list - including the prices. This process is designed to create a playful and fun shopping experience and also transparency and full control over the shopping basket.
Click to play
HOW IT WORKS
Group orders
The user can create or join group orders. How does it work? Each user selects and pays for his or her own shopping basket. After all users have placed their order, the group manager approves the order and determines the delivery details and passes it to the farmer. Based on the research, this feature was born out of a need of users.
Click to play
