68. Karen Jones and Sarah Moss-Crisp Murray State University Mentor: David Eaton Studies in Economic Behavior Study 1: (Jones) Buy Local: Who Shops at Farmers Markets? Bleak economic news and minimal changes to the job market pose two important questions to Kentuckians – ‘When will things return to normal? Can I do something to affect that outcome?’ Kentucky consumers work hard to save money by shopping hard for the lowest price. Discount chains and non-U.S. suppliers of goods most often provide the lowest prices to consumers. Are consumers ready to reconsider low price as the only criterion for buying decisions? Farmers Markets (FMs) sell primarily locally grown/produced goods in urban, suburban, and rural locations. Previous research indicates customers purchase goods at FMs for different reasons. Some customers like to purchase home grown vegetables (traditional road-side stand customers). Other customers are shopping for specific products such as organically grown or heirloom varieties typically found at FMs. A third type of customer is looking for ‘Made in Kentucky’ products or is practicing a ‘Buy Local’ strategy. While there are a number of successful sellers participating at FMs, aggregately these markets obtain only a fraction of local market share. There may be perceptions that FMs are inconvenient and prices are higher than typical chaingrocery stores. The purpose of this research is to focus on the perceptions of Farmers Market customers and potential/non-customers in order to identify attitudes where education (advertising) may increase the perceived value of shopping at Farmers Markets. Through education, could a change in perception increase ‘Buy Local’ behavior that will benefit local sellers as well as consumers who will enjoy a stronger local economy? Study 2: (Moss-Crisp) Are You Ready for an Upgrade? Recently, there seems to be a new cell phone launched almost every month with one of the major wireless carriers. For example, take the new Blackberry Torch that recently launched with AT&T. Despite a good advertising campaign, demand has been lackluster as it is competing with the Apple iPhone among other phones that AT&T carries. Do phones cause substitution between wireless carriers or is there more substitution between phones within the same carrier? Would this phone have been better off launching with another carrier like Verizon and competing with the new Android phones? Was making the Blackberry to be more like the iPhone the correct strategy or would Rim be better off maintaining the Blackberry's unique niche? Finally, how does technological change and user contracts impact the life span of the cell phone?
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