Institutional Adaptation of Fruit and Vegetables Market toward the Growing Middle Class Income in Indonesia

Abstract

The fast-growing middle class in the global south encourages the market to adapt to changes in shopping behaviour. In Western countries, modern markets are growing rapidly since they provide quality goods which are the main concerns of the middle class. This study investigated the transformation of the fruit and vegetables market in large Indonesian cities through a phenomenological approach. We found that all kind of markets develop unique strategies to anticipate middle-class behaviour changing. The modern fruit and vegetables market adapted by taking advantage of the consumers’ impulse to get consumer loyalties. The traditional market used operational time management to adapt to the work cycle of the middle class. Street vendors also did a grading for improving the quality of fruit and vegetables to maintain the demands of the middle class. This research found that the institutional changes in the fruit and vegetables market were not towards market modernization or increases in the use of supermarkets but it continue to grow side by side because they are able to adapt to the changes of the middle class’s shopping patterns. Further research is needed to determine which market is best able to attract consumer loyalty amid the dynamic consumption patterns of the middle class income.