Rockford City Market is not only a great networking event every Friday along Water Street in downtown Rockford, it is an economic machine for the downtown area. Here's the latest report on the impact of Rockford's City Market.
According to The Rock River Times, the Downtown District enjoyed a total economic impact of $8.7 million in 2014, according to a recently completed economic report.

The Rock River Development Partnership (RRDP) recently completed the SEED (Sticky Economic Evaluation Device) Study provided by marketumbrella.org. This tool measures the economic benefit of the market for both vendors and nearby businesses. The data were obtained from the respondents to the market’s annual patron survey, which was conducted in September and October 2014.

Getty Images
Getty Images
loading...

The SEED study showed a combined direct spend on Friday nights of $3.9 million: $2.4 at the market, and $1.5 at downtown businesses. When considering the multiplied effect of the initial round of spending plus successive rounds of re-spending within a region, the total combined economic impact is $8.7 million (the Bureau of Economic Analysis assigns a 2.25 multiplier to the region).

The market has become everything many business leaders envisioned it to be when we started it five years ago.

The average dollars spent at the market per shopper each market day is $31, and 57 percent of those spend $20 at a nearby business. This year, the attendance topped 75,000 people, a weekly increase of 11 percent, despite two rain-outs and a cool fall season.

Rockford City Market is a collaborative effort of several agencies, including the RRDP, Rockford Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the City of Rockford. Learn more at www.rockfordcitymarket.com.

I can't wait to attend next year with a new area and layout. Think warmer weather.

More From Rockford's New Country Q98.5