Abstract:
Purpose – The objective of the study is to understand the reasons for the resilience of rural periodic markets.
Small retailers patronise these markets, and by identifying the reasons for their continued market participation,
an attempt has been made to explain the continued existence of these traditional evolved retail agglomerations.
Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research design was adopted for the study. Semi-structured
interviews were conducted with 35 small retailers, and responses were used to identify the reasons for their
continued market participation. A mix of purposeful and snowball sampling was used to select the respondents.
Findings – In a novel endeavour, this study presents rural periodic markets as an evolved retail
agglomeration. It identifies six factors responsible for the continued participation of small retailers in these
markets. Seven attributes of the rural periodic market, an evolved retail agglomeration, were also identified
which contribute to the resilience of these markets.
Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the literature on retail agglomerations and
identifies the reasons for the continued market participation of small retailers, suggesting some trends about
their future in emerging economies.
Social implications – Rural periodic markets have affected the overall well-being of surrounding villages by
providing opportunities to participate in many ways. This has been identified as a reason for the economic
growth of the area.
Originality/value – To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to explore the resilience of
periodic markets from the perspective of small retailers by identifying the reasons for their continued market
participation.