The Impact of COVID-19 and the Adaptation of Retail Entrepreneurs under the Thong Fah (Blue Flag) Pracharat Project in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province

Abstract

This research aimed 1) to examine the impact of COVID-19 among the retail entrepreneurs under the Thong Fah (Blue Flag) Pracharat Project in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province; 2) to compare the effect of COVID-19 in these entrepreneurs classified by the differences in personal factors; and 3) to discover the adaptation of these entrepreneurs operated under the Thong Fah Pracharat Project.                   A quantitative research approach was employed. In total, 155 retail entrepreneurs were recruited. A questionnaire was the main instrument for collecting the data. Overall, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.85. The data were analyzed by using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. To examine the hypothesis, t-test and F-test were applied. If any items were found statistically significant different, the multiple comparison with Scheffe’s method were employed for further investigation.

The results showed that: the retail entrepreneurs under the Thong Fah Pracharat Project in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province were moderately affected by the impact of COVID-19. A comparison study on the effect of COVID-19 within these retail shops classified by the differences in personal factors exhibited that the entrepreneurs with different of ages and types of products sold were affected by the outbreak at the statistical significance level of 0.05. According to the frequency analysis, expanding more variety of products were ranked as the highest adaptation among these retail entrepreneurs, followed by increasing income from other jobs, reducing cost, expanding distribution channels, asking for assistance from their relatives, borrowing money from financial institutions, selling their properties, and applying for mortgage loans, respectively.