Collective markets are places where people from different places far and near, gather together to buy and sell goods and services. Such markets hold either daily or periodically. Some of them specialise in one line of products, such as automobile spare parts, while others deal on virtually all products. This collective market share much in common with modern shopping centres.
Periodic market :
A periodic market is a place where people gather to buy and sell periodically. Most periodic markets in Nigeria hold every four days. In Igbo land, there are four types of periodic markets or market days. These are Nkwo, Eke, Orie and Afor. Each of these markets has its own designated place where it holds every four days. The periodic markets are usually rural markets. Every large village or group of village has its own market on market day. Generally, a village has only one market. Though organisation has reduced many of these rural periodic markets, many of them are still in existence today.
Sellers and buyers had to go from one market place and day to another for the purpose of business transaction. The goods sold in these markets were initially such as could not be produced locally, and those that requires special skill to produce, such as salt, beads, earthen pots, metallic implements, colonization and specialisation of skill took please, other products were introduced, such as foodstuffs and imported articles.
Since the nigerian economy has become monetized before colonization, exchange to place in money in these local markets. Things that were used as money at various times and in various places include choral beads, cowries, shells, manila, rare feathers, and previous metallic objects. British money was later used to replace these after the colonization of Nigeria, but currently in Nigerian money is in place.
Merits of periodic markets.
1. The period in between markets enable the seller time to produce or scout for new or needed items to bring to the market. So, people could always expect new things on the market days.
2. The article's brought to the markets are generally fresh, being displayed for the first time.
3. The period between the market days allow people from far place to come. The lack of well developed means of transportation then meant that people had to spend this traveling on foot.
4. Periodic markets served as opportunities for a single seller to operate in many places or locations. He could attend different markets on different days without the fear of loosing these customers in any of the markets.
5. The market days and places provided a means for interacting or socializing with friends and others from other towns and villages.
6. The market square are used alternatively as civic centres.
7. Since periodic markets are rural markets, they provide a venue for people to obtain farm products cheaply.
Demerits of periodic markets.
1. Periodic markets makes people to travel long distance before they could buy or sell oh. This was very cumbersome when there were no motor vehicles.
2. People who for one reason or the other missed the market or failed to buy, will have to wait till the next market day.
3. Unsold farm produce drugs for sale can spoil before the next market day this was a very big problem before because of the difficulty in preservation. People who do not have good means of preservation have to dispose their wares at give away price is less they spoil before the next market day.
4. There are generally no provisions such as lock up shops for keeping the unsold wears in the market after close of business. They have to be carried home. This is burdensome. It could also make some of the goods to wear off or get damaged during frequent transit before sales.
5. manufactured products which usually come from urban centres are usually costly in these markets. Sum, such as bread becomes stale or spot before they get to the next manufactured products which usually come from urban centres are usually costly in these markets. Some such as bread becomes stale or spot before they get to the next market.
Daily market.
a daily market is a place where people gather for buying and selling on daily basis. Daily markets are usually situated in urban centres. they could congregate in the morning, early evening, or night hours. But the modern trend is for these markets to congregate in the morning and close in the evening. In enugu the "Afia 4", which gathered from 4:00 comma in the evening at Abakpa Nike, and "afia 9" which gathered from 9 o'clock in the night at Ogui Urban now gather in the morning and close late in the night. Only very few day live markets gather in the evening hours only these days.
The daily market share some resemblance with the rural periodic markets. People bring their wares from far and near for display and sale. they are both collective markets. The site are generally owned by the communities. Sellers do not have provisions for keeping their unsold goods till the next day in most cases. But there are many differences between the daily market and the periodic markets. This include :
1. Most daily markets are now having lock-up stores in which sellers can keep their goods and in safety till the next day. These are usually built by the state or local government and rented out to the individuals.
2. modern facilities such as pipe borne water, electricity, fire fighting devices, policy, post, banks, toilets, baths, and motor parts are now being provided in daily markets all over the country.
3. Market or sellers union exist in most daily markets to guide and protect the sellers and also ensure that customers are not cheated by the sellers. But their unions have in recent times constituted themselves into great problems to the public by hiking up prices and preventing non registered members from selling in this market.
Merits of daily market.
1. People can buy and sell daily in this market.
2. These markets are generally close to the people.
3. The high frequency of interaction between buyers and sellers in daily markets enable better and long lasting relationships to foster.
4. Unsold items can be stored in some of the markets or taken home and brought back for display the next day.
5. Many of the modern daily markets can boost of essential utilities, such as public toilets, telephones, firefighting service, electricity, water, post offices, bank, motor parks, and central security. These facilities provide more convenience and security for participants in the market.
6. the market associations or unions usually found in many of the daily markets protect the interest of both buyers and sellers, thereby lessening the incidence of frauds. For example, unsuitable motor spare parts but at the coal camp in enugu can be returned with money refunded within a day or two. Difficult or uncooperative sellers are punished by being made to pay double by the tax force set up by the market union.
Demerits of daily markets.
1. A seller cannot personally operate in more than one daily market, except on rotational basis.
2. food items and other farm producers are generally costlier in the urban daily market than in the periodic rural markets.
3. The operational cost in urban daily markets are high higher than those of the rural markets. The rent service charges for utilities, the union fees charged in urban and daily markets are high, and these are usually passed to the buyers in terms of high prices.
4. The existence of market traders union in urban daily market constitutes serious problem to new entrants and some sellers who may want to sell at lower prices. Government effort Tube and the existence of this unions or curb their assessor have not yielded any meaningful results. Many times, farmers and others who bring cheap items to those markets are not allowed to sell directly to buyers. The markets union's leaders usually impound or even destroy the goods of such people, unless they sell to the regular traders who are union members.
5. Theft, arson, and accidental fire outbreaks which are now Rampant in daily markets have wrecked many traders who kept goods overnight in their stores in the daily market.
A close look at the collective rural periodic and urban daily markets in Nigeria will review that the manifest the major features of shopping centres. A shopping centre is a place Which harbours many stores owned or operated by different individuals. It usually has A centrally organised security and provision of utilities. It has a parking space. The stores Are grouped according to the lines of products they carry.
This enables shoppers to be able to easily compare brands and prices Before taking purchase decisions. Shopping centres are usually located in the outskirts of the city where adequate space can be found. Our collective rural and urban market share all these features to a large extent, except that they are usually cited inside the towns or villages. This means that our collective markets are actually shopping centres, indigenous to Nigeria.
