Upon accessing the app, visitors can view the schedule and location of each market. Moreover, the app allows for three main processes: registering for the service, reserving stalls in markets, and participating by accessing the stalls either independently or with the organizers' assistance.
Organizers can rely on the app to assist stallholders with periodic administrative and operational procedures, enabling more personalized support and improved marketplace monitoring. Furthermore, real-time data on vendor flow and characteristics could enhance the dynamism and responsiveness of each market's governing policies.
Each market stall is uniquely numbered and coded with a QR on its table. Structurally, the stalls are equipped with tables and supports for displaying and storing merchandise, with weight distribution optimized for stability in windy conditions. CNC manufacturing ensures scalability, while the design allows for easy assembly and component replacement.
The fieldwork involved observations and 40 surveys conducted with stallholders across four markets, together with two interviews with an organizer and municipal staff.
Diversity was measured using the Shannon Index, which considers both the variety of product categories (richness) and the balance of their distribution (evenness). In contrast, market saturation emerged as a key indicator and significant barrier to incorporating new stallholders. While governing bodies of each market address saturation in different ways, accurately tracking it is critical for thorough market analysis.
Market saturation occurs when the demand for a good or service becomes so diluted that not all stallholders offering it can generate enough sales. This can lead to more competitive and even conflictive relationships between stallholders. In the Social Economy Markets, this is exemplified by clothing vendors, who accounted for 35% of the total in the sample.
For 20% of the stallholders in the sample, expanding to other markets serves as an adaptive strategy to meet shifting demand or to expand their business reach. Conversely, from the 80% of stallholders who do not participate in other markets, 25% cite administrative difficulties, while 15% point to a lack of information as reasons for not expanding to other markets.
From the previous blueprint, we highlight that organizers receive and process stallholders' entry requests via WhatsApp or Instagram. Additionally, each week they must confirm stallholders' participation and later track their attendance on market days. The interviewed organizer mentioned that she finds these tasks particularly tedious and time-consuming, noting other responsibilities like overseeing the market’s logistics and assisting stallholders with showcasing their products.
The following personas represent extreme cases of stallholders, based on age, product offerings, and how these factors might fundamentally affect their ability to expand participation. Both personas are women, as fieldwork confirmed that they constitute the majority of stallholders.
