As some of you know, we at the Really Really Free Market conducted a survey to find out more about our market-goers. In total, 44 people completed Part 1 of the web version, 40 people completed Part 2, and 11 completed the paper version at the May market. The following is a breakdown of the results. Because of rounding error and people who skip questions, the percentages may not add up to 100%.
1) What is your gender?
85% of the survey-takers were female, 14% were male, and 3 either refused to answer or made a joke response in the comments. This comes out to 58 people, which is more than the number of respondents. This is probably because a few people decided to choose a response and also leave a comment.
2) What is your age?
13% were 18 to 24 years old, 33% were 25 to 34, 14% were 35 to 44, 24% were 45 to 54, 7% were 55 to 64, 9% were 65 to 74, and there were no respondents 75 and over. Interestingly, the two biggest age groups were those between the ages of 25 to 34 and 45 to 54.
3) Where do you live?
22% claimed to be from East Toronto (there was one specific mention of Scarborough), 64% were from West Toronto, 4% were from North Toronto, 5% were from Downtown, 4% came from outside Toronto but inside the GTA, and 2% came from outside the GTA altogether. Unsurprisingly, the majority came from the area closest to Campbell Park.
4) How did you find out about the Really Really Free Market?
9% found out about the RRFM as they were passing by Campbell Park, 28% found out through a friend or family member, 5% found out from a poster or flyer, 9% found out from Facebook, 2% found out through Twitter, 5% through this very blog, 7% from Blog TO, 2% from Torontoist, 7% from Craigslist, 4% from NOW Magazine, another 4% found out through a Google search, 2% found out from the Campbell Park Community Supper, 2% from an unspecified newspaper, 2% found out through The Grid, 2% from Charity Village 2012, 2% (1 person) worked at the Peterborough Free Market, and 2% (one person) found out through an unspecified 'Other' method. Word-of-mouth is obviously the most popular method of finding out about the Free Market, but roughly 16% found out through websites or newspapers that are not directly associated with the Really Really Free Market.
5) How long have you known about the Free Market?
13% found out about the Free Market in the past month, 4% had found out within the past 1 or 2 months, 0 had found out in the last 2 to 3 months, 16% had found out in previous 3 to 6 months, 25% found out between 6 months and 1 year ago, and 40% have known for over one year. The answers to this and the following question presents the biggest difference between the results of the web and paper surveys. In the paper survey, a full 45% found out about the Free Market within the previous month, but only 4% in the web survey. Perhaps this is because those who did the web version had not yet gone to a market and felt less of a need to contribute to the survey, while those who were at an actual market had already committed to the idea and were more willing to help out.
6) When was the last time you went/came to the Free Market?
17% were either first-time goers or had not yet gone at all, 29% had gone to the previous market on Apr 5th, 22% had gone two months previously (Mar 1st), 17% had lost gone 3 to 6 months before the survey, 9% had not been to the Free Market in over 6 months, and 7% had not gone in over a year. Again, the paper survey had more new market-goers than the web survey; fully 54% of the paper survey respondents were first-time market goers.
7) If you weren't at the last Free Market, why not?
24% of respondents actually had been at the last market, 10% hadn't known about it yet, 7% forgot to go, 4% didn't like the last market they'd gone to, 2% didn't know the time or place, 2% had slept in, 4% had been ill, and 2% had nothing to bring or take.
8) How often do you go to the RRFM?
20% go to the RRFM every month, 38% go every 2 or 3 months, 18% rarely go, and 20% were new to the market.
9) How do/did you get to Campbell Park?
20% walk, 13% bike, 33% take public transit, and 29% arrive by car. The last statistic is surprisingly large, but perhaps those with the money to own a car are also more likely to own a computer to take a web survey.
10) How long did/does it take you to get to Campbell Park?
56% took less than half an hour, 27% between 30 minutes and one hour, 11% take 1 to 2 hours, and a dedicated 2% (one person) took more than two hours to get to the park. These results are not too surprising, as we found out above that a majority of respondents live in West Toronto, the area of the park.
10a) Did you come with anyone to Campbell Park?
This question was added to the paper version of the survey, so there were only 11 responses. 36% came alone, and 64% came with a friend or family member. No respondents came with children or a dog.
11) How long do you usually stay/How long do you intend to stay today?
39% only stay for less than 30 minutes, 31% stay between 30 minutes and an hour, 14% stay 1 to 2 hours, 6% stay 2 to 5 hours, and there are no respondents who claim they stay from the opening to the closing of the market.
12) Why did you come to the Free Market/go to the last market?
31% said they wanted to get things, 57% wanted to get rid of some of their stuff, 14% came because they were a volunteer, 8% came in by chance, and 4% came to satisfy their curiosity.
13) What kind of things are you interested in?
61% of survey-takers said they were interested in women's clothing, 29% in men's clothing, 25% in kids' clothing, 69% in books and other media, 27% were interested in electronics, 69% in household goods, 49% in kitchenware, 21% in hardware, 14% in sports equipment, 4% in toys, 2% in pet things, 7% in beauty supplies and accessories, 4% in art and craft supplies, and 4% were interested in food items. The items with the most interest were women's clothing, books and media, and household goods. Unsurprisingly, these are also the most common items to be found at the Free Market.
14) How likely are you to return to the Free Market?
2% said they were unlikely to return, 14% said they were somewhat likely, 31% were 'very likely', and 53% were 100% certain they would return.
15) What do you like about the Free Market?
78% of people like the free stuff, an even greater 86% like being able to get rid of their things, 41% like meeting people, 61% enjoy browsing, 10% like the alternate economy, 2% said they just like going to the park, 8% enjoy the "giving atmosphere", and 6% like that they can reduce waste by participating.
16) What don't you like about the Free Market?
Only 4% said the market was too crowded, 8% said the times were inconvenient, 47% did not like overly aggressive market-goers, 31% did not care for the lack of space, 20% did not like the low quality of goods, 4% said it was too disorganized, 2% said the volunteers were unhelpful, 6% complained about the poor selection, 8% said the location was bad, and 2% said the RRFM did not happen often enough. The aggressive market-goers were by far the biggest complaint, and we at the Really Really Free Market are working to address these claims. Already, we've received compliments for implementing the "Chill Out" table and the more visible volunteers, but these measures only mitigate the problem and does not completely solve it. Ultimately, this is what can best be done, but we do welcome any helpful suggestions from market-goers.
We also asked for suggestions on what we can do to improve the Really Really Free Market. There were a few suggestions and comments about the aggressive market-goers, which has already been covered above. There were several calls to improve our promotional efforts to get more people and more goods into the market. A larger venue was also called for, and more locations throughout the city. There was also a plea for a reminder to market-goers to bring in clean items only, which we should all keep in mind. Some of the suggestions are beyond our current resources, such as the larger venue and more locations. While we would like to have markets in other locations, we need volunteers who can run these markets. We at the Campbell Park RRFM would of course offer any assistance we can to those who want to start a market in a different location. If you're interested in doing this, please email us at rrfmarket@gmail.com.
In addition, we also asked for suggestions on what we can do for the Really Really Free Market's upcoming second anniversary in July. Many suggested a BBQ or potluck, and quite a few recommended cake (and one anonymous individual said he/she would be able to donate cake from Costco - if you're reading this, please email us). Music was also a common suggestion, as was more free services such as hair cuts and massages. We'll try and implement as much of this as we can, and we will do our best to make our second anniversary a fun day for everyone!
