The 'Mercados de la Economía Social' (Social Economy Markets) are located in Córdoba, Argentina, with 63 markets operating as of 2023. These markets offer self-managed employment opportunities and vendor training, building capacity in areas that strengthen their initiatives. Beyond their economic function, the markets are public platforms for social exchange and the expression of neighborhood cultural identities.
Based on fieldwork across four markets, this project was developed as if it were offered by the Municipality of Córdoba, recognizing this actor’s support in developing the service's infrastructure and its position as a crucial stakeholder within the governance of markets. Feriante introduces a set of mechanisms for improving accessibility to information and participation processes, reducing repetitive operational burdens on market organizers, and enabling data collection to support policy implementation.
The onboarding for the service is facilitated through a mobile app that provides visitors and vendors with essential information about the service and specific markets. Additionally, the app integrates three key processes into a single platform: registering for the service by validating their identity and specifying their offering, reserving stalls in markets with availability, and participating in them.
Participation in markets requires that, upon arrival and location verification, stallholders view their assigned stall number in the app and access by scanning the QR code on their table. This process reduces the organizers' workload of verifying stallholder attendance and managing forms, allowing them to take on a more facilitative role and provide targeted assistance. As the implementers of each market's governance regulations, organizers would also have an app version that includes tools for filtering stallholder participation requests based on stall availability for each product category.
The stall was designed to maximize the functionality of structural elements, doubling as tables and supports for displaying and storing merchandise, strategically arranged within the structure. The weight distribution of the merchandise on the tables was considered to keep the stall unfolded during use and ensure stability in harsh weather conditions. CNC manufacturing enables scalability, while the design ensures easy assembly and straightforward component replacement.
The fieldwork carried out within the Social Economy Markets involved observations and 40 surveys conducted with stallholders across four of these markets, together with two interviews with an organizer and municipal staff.
Diversity was measured using the Shannon Index, which accounts for both the variety of product categories (richness) and the balance in their distribution (evenness). In contrast, market saturation was identified as a key indicator and a significant barrier to the incorporation of new stallholders. While the governing bodies of each market address saturation through various approaches, understanding it was highlighted as critical for conducting thorough market analysis.
As we understood market saturation, it occurs when the demand for a good or service approaches its limit within a specific location or area, which can result in tensions among stallholders, where new or existing vendors struggle to generate sufficient sales due to an oversupply of similar offerings or a limited customer base. In the Social Economy Markets of Córdoba, 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 typical 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.
