PurposeWomen play an important role in marketing and their participation is greatest where trade is traditional. This study aims to explore this most basic level of direct marketing.Design/methodology/approachTo understand the turn around in the life of these women, the study examined the opportunity accrued to women farmers through participating in direct farmer's markets in Japan. Purposive sampling method was adopted in selecting the respondents. To establish change(s) in respondent's status; the snowball method was used to select non‐direct farmers markets (DFM) users for comparison while data collection was done by structured questionnaire and interview schedule.FindingsThe findings of the study revealed that most of the DFM studied were established to improve rural women status.Practical implicationsThe relationship between the empowerment of both groups and selected characteristics suggests that their empowerment in familial and mobility would be decreasing as they advance in age.Originality/valueMuch of the current direct marketing research is focused on the high‐level/high‐tech sectors. This research investigates the most fundamental level of direct marketing: one‐to‐one interactions and transactions.

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