During the last 25 years we’ve been the witnesses of explosive consumer market transformation. Reforming of its segments and emergence of competition led to the development of new trade forms and methods, public catering and consumer services and to the change of established principles and methods of enterprises management in the sphere. This sector of state economy develops rapidly along with the growth of internal and external investment inflows. Therefore, the research of consumer market is of utmost importance nowadays.
The article aims to outline conceptual basics of functioning of regional consumer goods market and to suggest its development directions on this basis.
The differences between the notions «consumer market» and «consumer goods market» are outlined. The nature of the notion «regional consumer goods market» is defined. The fact that functioning and development of regional consumer goods market has to be grounded on certain system of tasks, functions and methodological principles that resemble its major regular patterns is proved. The aim of consumer goods market functioning is defined as the maintenance of the opportunity of accessible by prices and other purchase terms meeting the needs of various social classes of population for consumer goods according to their purchase power. Major characteristics of regional consumer goods market are generalized. It is proved that saturation and capacity of consumer goods market depends on the efficiency of social and economic activity in the region, i.e. the higher the capacity, the more goods are produced and the higher are the wages and final consumption. The directions of development and organization of regional consumer goods market are suggested as following: creation of economic mechanism that maintains efficient interaction of regional consumer goods market entities and regional authorities; selection of organizational and economic forms of wholesale and retail trade, financial-credit and aftersale service, and organizational-legal forms of trade and economy intraregional and interregional links; forming of regional markets system on the basis of orientation at priority maintenance of consumers’ interests; selection of efficient channels of goods traffic and forms of spatial organization of consumer goods market for various types of regions; rationalization of trade and economic processes, goods, monetary and information flows and development of region’s market infrastructure. The fact that system and complex approach is necessary in order to implement defined directions of regional consumer goods market development. This system approach should be implemented in economic, social and organizational and legal fields.