CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Traders purchase products from manufacturers, wholesalers, and other distributors and resell them to the general public. Large stores like Walmart and Target buy in bulk from distributors or wholesalers, but independent, family-run pharmacies or your neighborhood grocery store can order from the same sources or from smaller suppliers.The trader prices the merchandise to the end-user at a markup—the discrepancy between the selling price and the resale price—in any case. This is how businesses make money.Of any way or another, retailers must be set up to deliver directly to customers. This includes not only physical and digital position choices, but also how to sell merchandise and communicate with consumers. The style of store, the market represented, the optimum product assortment, Customer experience, Market positioning, and other factors influence most modern retailers' business decisions.traders aren't only limited to stores with physical sites. Hundreds of thousands of small single-person businesses market everything from bath oil beads to Bermuda shorts online.Traders may also be less conventional companies. An artist selling handmade jewelry at a craft fair, for example, is called a merchant as long as the individual is selling products to customers for a fee.Traders aren't just in the business of selling merchandise; they may even offer services. The consumer electronics retailer Best Buy, for example, has a Geek Squad department in its stores that provides maintenance facilities for the items it offers. In addition, the Geek Squad makes house calls and offers online customer service.A physical building, online, kiosk, special case, cataloge, and pop-up are all examples of traditional retail formats. To be competitive today, traders must be omnichannel, which means they must sell in several venues (or retail channels). Amazon, for example, has expanded its physical presence to complement its online business. Today's consumer prefers to offer a variety of buying choices.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global environment, with significant ramifications for all cultures and individuals. Moving quickly through borders and through the main arteries of the global economy, the epidemic has benefited from the inherent interconnectedness and frailties of globalization, catapulting a global health problem into a global economic disruption that has struck the world's economies hard.The coronavirus disease, which emerged from the natural world and has paralyzed our populations and economies, shows the interdependence inherent in the Sustainable Development Goals, but it is jeopardizing global attempts to achieve them. More than 1 million people have died as a result of the coronavirus epidemic of 2019 (COVID-19), and the world economy is forecast to contract by a whopping 4.3 percent in 2020. Millions of jobs have also been lost, millions of livelihoods are at risk, and an estimated additional 130 million people will be living in extreme poverty if the crisis continues, While there is still a lot of confusion about how and where the pandemic will end, the unparalleled economic shock caused by the public health epidemic has also uncovered the global economy's pre-existing flaws, halting infrastructure development around the globe.

The pandemic of COVID-19 poses unparalleled challenges. Many products and services have seen a significant drop in demand, and some traders are either seeing shortages or being overburdened. Borders were closed in Nigeria and across the world, and communities are being forced to reform their ways of life.Traders must recognize that their reaction to the novel COVID-19 Pandemic would have a huge effect on their business as whole nations are placed under quarantine and shoppers across the world attempt to limit human interaction.In developing countries, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) engaged in wholesale and retail trade are a significant part of the economy and a source of employment. They are also an important part of the supply chains that transport goods to customers.A lockdown in Nigeria affected wholesale and retail industries from March 26 to May 4, 2020, as well as a variety of ongoing controls on consumer trade and travel since the lockdown was lifted.The lockdown had a major effect on traders' companies. And all of those who worked in markets that were shut down due to the lockdown. Just 15% of traders said their firms were open for business, and 91 percent said they had made no money in the week previous to the survey. Traders' companies, on the other hand, seemed to be unaffected by the lockdown.  Markets were allowed to open three days a week 9am to 3pm starting on 4 May.From that point on, 85 percent of traders found their companies to be operational, with the rest expecting to reopen in the near future. A small percentage of respondents (21%) showed no earnings for at least one week in May or June, either because they had decided not to return to their shops yet or because business was slow.

1.3       OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

I.         To know how greatly the effect of COVID 19 on traders’ sale volume was.

II.      To assess if COVID 19 had an effect on online traders.

1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS 

I.  How greatly did COVID 19 affect traders’ volume?

II.     Did COVOD 19 have any effect on online traders?

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research work focused on the impact of COVID 19 on traders’ sales volume and it can serve as a study material for other researchers, intellectuals, and students who wish to conduct related research,traders would also find it useful for improvement of sales.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This research work focus solely on the impact of COVID 19 ontraders’ sales volume, The study was carried out in Ajah, Lagos state.

1.7       LIMITATION OF STUDY

Lack of material and time limitations were challenges the researcher faced and also taking precautions as not to make direct contact with people inline with the COVID prevention measures.

1.8       DEFINITION OF TERMS

TRADER: A trader, also known as a merchant, is an entity that makes a profit by selling items such as clothing, foods, or automobiles directly to customers through different distribution channels. This business may be located in a physical location or run entirely online.

COVID 19:Corona-viruses (COVID 19) are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

(SARS).

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