Conventional VS Digital Marketing Channels for Hydroponic Vegetables in Kendari City, Indonesia: A Comparative Efficiency Analysis

This study analyzes the marketing channels for lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and pakcoy (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis) in Kendari City, comparing conventional direct/offline channels with emerging digital platforms. A census of 16 hydroponic producers and a snowball sample of 6 marketing intermediaries were used to identify marketing channel structures and evaluate economic performance through marketing margin, cost and profit distributions, marketing efficiency, and farmers’ share. Results show that conventional marketing involves two channels, whereas digital marketing extends to three channels. Hydroponic product marketing via digital platforms achieved substantially higher sales volumes than through conventional outlets. All observed channels are economically efficient. The shortest channel (direct producer-to-consumer) is most efficient under both methods, while longer chains have higher but still acceptable EP and reduced farmers’ share. Producers retain 83–89% of the consumer price in the two-level channels and 63–73% in the three-level digital channel. These findings underscore that shorter distribution channels yield the highest returns to farmers and the lowest marketing costs. The study contributes empirical evidence that digital marketing can expand market reach and maintain high marketing efficiency for urban agribusiness.