# Farmers-Market Marketplace — Product Planning Meeting

**Date:** July 30, 2026  
**Time:** 10:00–11:00 a.m. ET  
**Location:** Video conference  
**Facilitator:** Maya Chen  
**Note-taker:** Owen Brooks

## Attendees

- Maya Chen — Product Manager
- Owen Brooks — Marketplace Operations
- Priya Nair — Engineering Lead
- Lucas Martin — UX Designer
- Sofia Alvarez — Vendor Success
- Ben Walker — Marketing
- Hannah Kim — Customer Support

## Agenda

1. Review vendor and shopper feedback from the pilot
2. Confirm marketplace launch scope
3. Discuss pickup, inventory, and payment workflows
4. Define launch metrics and operational ownership
5. Assign next steps

## Discussion Notes

### Pilot Feedback

- Shoppers liked browsing products by market and vendor, but several expected to filter by pickup date before viewing inventory.
- Vendors found bulk inventory updates faster than editing individual listings. Mobile photo uploads were inconsistent on older devices.
- The most common support question was whether an order could include products from multiple vendors.
- Several vendors requested clearer guidance about product availability, substitutions, and cutoff times.
- Customers preferred a single checkout, even when fulfillment involved multiple vendors.

### Launch Scope

- The initial launch will support preorder and market-day pickup only. Delivery and shipping remain out of scope.
- Customers may purchase from multiple vendors in one cart, provided all vendors participate in the same market session.
- Product categories at launch will include produce, baked goods, dairy, meat, pantry items, flowers, and prepared foods.
- Vendor profiles will display farm or business details, production practices, pickup instructions, and allergen information where applicable.
- Saved favorites and recurring orders will be considered after launch.

### Inventory and Fulfillment

- Inventory will be tracked per market session rather than as a single quantity across all locations.
- Vendors may set an order cutoff between 12 and 36 hours before market opening.
- Vendors will receive a printable packing list and a mobile-friendly fulfillment view.
- Substitutions will be disabled for launch. Vendors must mark unavailable items and issue refunds through the operations workflow.
- Customers will receive one order confirmation plus vendor-specific pickup details.

### Payments and Fees

- The marketplace will collect customer payment at checkout and issue weekly vendor payouts.
- The proposed marketplace fee is 8% per order, excluding payment-processing fees.
- Refunds requested before the vendor cutoff may be issued automatically. Later refund requests will require operations review.
- Finance and legal must confirm payout timing, tax handling, and vendor terms before onboarding begins.

### Launch Metrics

The team agreed to monitor:

- Number of active vendors
- Weekly gross merchandise value
- Shopper conversion rate
- Average order value
- Percentage of orders containing multiple vendors
- Inventory-related cancellations
- On-time pickup readiness
- Vendor and shopper support volume

## Decisions

- Launch with preorder and market pickup; exclude delivery and shipping.
- Allow multi-vendor carts only within the same market session.
- Use market-session-level inventory and configurable vendor cutoff times.
- Disable substitutions for the initial release.
- Provide customers with one checkout and one payment transaction.
- Begin with an 8% marketplace fee, subject to finance approval.
- Pilot the launch with two markets before expanding regionally.
- Target the first public pilot for October 3, 2026.

## Action Items

| Owner | Action | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Maya | Finalize launch requirements and circulate the approved scope | August 4 |
| Priya | Document the technical approach for session-based inventory and multi-vendor checkout | August 7 |
| Lucas | Revise browsing filters to prioritize market date and pickup location | August 6 |
| Sofia | Recruit 15–20 vendors across the two pilot markets | August 21 |
| Sofia | Draft vendor guidance for inventory, cutoff times, packing, and refunds | August 14 |
| Owen | Define the market-day check-in and exception-handling process | August 18 |
| Ben | Prepare the shopper launch plan and pilot-market communications calendar | August 28 |
| Hannah | Create support macros for cancellations, pickup issues, and unavailable products | August 21 |
| Maya | Schedule finance and legal review of fees, payouts, taxes, and vendor terms | August 5 |
| Priya and Lucas | Test mobile product uploads on older iOS and Android devices | August 12 |
| Owen | Draft the pilot dashboard specification using the agreed launch metrics | August 11 |

## Open Questions

- Should vendors be allowed to extend an order cutoff after publishing a market session?
- What proof of pickup, if any, is required for disputed orders?
- Will prepared-food vendors need additional document verification?
- Should the marketplace absorb payment-processing fees on refunded orders?
- How should partial market cancellations caused by severe weather be handled?

## Next Meeting

**Date:** August 13, 2026  
**Focus:** Technical design review, vendor onboarding readiness, and resolution of finance and legal questions.