Retail in times of war: resumption of business activity

Abstract

Retail trade, as the final stage of the movement of goods, plays a crucial role in ensuring the efficiency of the state’s economy and the well-being of its population. In the conditions of war, the uninterrupted operation of retail enterprises has become the foundation for the survival and further development of manufacturing enterprises in the FMCG market and a guarantee of food security in Ukraine. During the war, domestic retail underwent specific stages of survival and development, responding to external challenges in unique ways and employing unconventional approaches and solutions to overcome them. The aim of the article is to determine the life trajectory of retail during the war, systematize the approaches of domestic retailers to adaptation and business activity recovery. In the research general scientific methods, including theoretical genera­lization, systematization, and grouping; abstra­ct­ion, analysis, and synthesis; statistical method; deduction and induction methods were used. The main challenges of retail in various spheres of activity were considered, and survival and recovery methods under heightened political risks were generalized. A life trajectory of the trading business in times of war has been constructed, encompassing four main stages driven by the dynamics and contradictions of changes in the trading business’s external environment. Ways to overcome (reduce the negative impact) retail challenges in the conditions of martial law were systematized. It has been established that the key principles of survival and development for retail in the context of full-scale war in Ukraine are flexibility, maneuverability, adaptability, and the use of a situational approach to overcome unforeseen challenges. Systematizing the positive experi­ence of restoring business activity in retail during times of war allows its direct application or adaptation for various market segments, industries, and individual enterprises in the dynamic nature of changes.