COVID-19 Doldrums and Marketing Performance of Small Scale Business Enterprises in Port Harcourt

Abstract

The study delved into COVID-19 doldrums and marketing performance of small scale business enterprises in Port Harcourt. The study adopted the descriptive research design. The population of the study comprised managers/owners of small scale food and beverages businesses in Port Harcourt Metropolis. The purposive sampling technique was adopted to obtain a sample size of 200
respondents drawn from the four regions of Port Harcourt, viz, the Akpor axis 50, Port Harcourt main town 50, Obio axis 50 and Rumukwurushi/Eneka axis 50. The 5-point likert scale was used in the questionnaire to obtain data from the respondents. Mean as well as standard deviation was used to answer the research questions at 3.0 mean benchmark, while the regression statistical model was used to test the research hypotheses at .05 significance level. Out of the 200 questionnaires distributed 180 which represented 85% of the copies of the questionnaire were duly returned and completed. The findings showed that there was a significant effect of price inflation on sales growth of small scale business enterprises in Port Harcourt during COVID-19. There was also a significant effect of insolvency on market share growth of small scale business enterprises in Port Harcourt during COVID-19. The study recommended that government, manufacturers and service providers should play a basic role of stimulating production in the midst of any pandemic.