The Functioning of Retail Stores of Fmcg in Circumstances of Crises in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

The retail sector with its network of stores is an inseparable and one of the most important parts for the functioning of the economy and society in general in the modern dynamic market environment. This is particularly evident when it comes to the retail sale of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). The fact is that the vast majority of the population does not produce food and other existential goods for daily consumption, but is completely dependent on the purchase of these products. Considering this, it is clear that any major turbulence caused by a certain crisis that directly or indirectly affects retail sector also affects consumers’ life quality. Crises, such as those caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, lead to product shortages on the shelves, reduced opening hours of the stores, closure of stores in many locations, changes in the assortment of stores, increase in prices of products on retail shelves, longer waits for product delivery, less employees in the stores that are available to consumers, etc. If the global events that caused crises on market in the recent past have shown as anything, it is that crises will be more and more frequent, with an unpredictable length and even faster expectations for adjustments to market conditions in order to persist and remain competitive. The objective of this research is to look at the impact of these crises and their consequences on retailers and consumers, in order to predict new crises and make suggestions so that retailers can react to mitigate the effects of these crises.