Itinerant traders are retailers who move from place to place selling their goods either on foot, by bicycles or on motorcycles
They move from town to town, door to door and from village to village selling their goods.
Their goods may include clothes, utensils and foodstuffs. Customers can buy goods without having to travel to look for them
Examples of itinerant traders are hawkers and peddlers (Hawkers move around on bicycles, wheelbarrows, handcarts or motorcycles while peddlers walk around)
The itinerant traders require a license from the local authorities in order to sell their goods.
Characteristics of itinerant Traders
i) Iterant traders are found mainly in densely populated areas that are areas that have high population density for example bus stages, and busy streets.
ii) They move from place to place in search of customers.
iii) They are very persuasive, they try to convince the customers to buy their products.
iv) Their prices are not controlled, they charge prices depending on how the customer looks and also the location of the place the trade is being made.
Advantages of itinerant Traders
i) They require little capital to start and operate.
ii) They are convenient because they bring goods closer to the people.
iii) The business is flexible in that it can move from place to place. They can also change from one line of business to another.
iv) it requires few legal formalities hence easy to start and fewer formation expenses.
v) They usually do not suffer bad debts because they sell in cash.
Disadvantages of itinerant Traders
i) The traders get tired because of moving from one place to another while carrying goods.
ii) The business is affected by bad weather conditions, a rainy weather may force traders to pose trading to allow the rain to subside equally on a sunny day leading to heavy sweating and fatigue.
iii) The trader sells a limited range of goods hence a customer’s choice is limited to the goods available hence denying the consumer sovereignty.
iv) It is difficult to transport goods from one place to another, especially for heavy large-size goods.
v) Iterant traders do not offer a guarantee, in case items are to be found defective hence the customers suffer liability alone hence risky.
vi) They are constantly in conflict with the local government especially for operating in restricted areas next to government offices such as the office of the governor and sometimes bus stages.
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