Consumers' attitudes towards weekend, night & street markets

In line with the general acceptance by economists and politicians of globalisation and the veneration of free market forces, the retail sector in Australia and in most other OECD countries has seen a tremendous concentration of vendors. In spite of this, the aim of this research monograph is to investigate the emergence of weekend, night and street markets. Generally these are an „unexplored territory“ of economics, and often these markets have been regarded as a quantité négligeable. Giving some thoughts on tax justice, analysing the economic survival of small business in the retail sector, studying the determinants of the traders operations including taxation within a fairly cash economy, the limitations of regulations and of the determinants of consumers’ perceptions, one question among others arise whether the Government should support weekend, night & street markets directly through subsidies and through taxation privileges, or should the Government intervene by strict regulations. Examples of these markets were given from Australia, Germany, New Zealand and North America. There are some serious doubts whether the traditional consumer research through questionnaires might deliver reliable results. Nonetheless to gain some reasonable data had been a key issue for this research project. The consumer survey was administered to a regional sample of 1,000 people living in the Townsville area, North Queensland, Australia. Overall, weekend, night and street markets are mostly enhanced in their attractiveness to consumers by providing a social atmosphere, a cultural flair in the sense of a „bazaar“ and hence an opportunity for consumers to enjoy a „market flair“. This is opposed to the monotonous shopping atmosphere of supermarkets and in shopping centres with the dominance of self-service.