Anush Nayak
Every time I pass a hawker on the streets, a thought lingers: how much do they earn in a day, and does it suffice for their needs? What strategies do traders employ when their stock does not sell as anticipated? These questions are more than idle curiosity—they are windows into the fragile ecosystem of informal commerce.
A closer look at Kampala’s streets reveals a fascinating pattern: clusters of hawkers often converge around a single type of product—medicines along Wilson Road, IT accessories on Kampala Road. It seems that in such a saturated market, the true differentiator is not the merchandise itself, but the ability to capture a passerby’s attention. The skill of standing out amidst uniformity becomes an art form, a silent negotiation between visibility, appeal, and survival. Observing this, one begins to appreciate the subtle strategies at play in urban commerce—where economics, psychology, and human behavior intersect in plain sight.
