Terminology
The term “street vendor” in English is typically used interchangeably with “street trader,” “hawker,” and “peddler.” There are also many local terms and regional variations.1 Street vendors are sometimes distinguished from vendors who operate in the types of public spaces that are not specifically streets or related to streets – train stations, buses, public parks, and so on – but most commonly the term is used inclusively.
Street vendors are frequently distinguished from vendors who operate in officially sanctioned off-street markets, which may be public or private. In many countries, street vendors are relocated to public (municipal) markets or buildings that are privately owned and converted to off-street markets under the aegis of municipal programmes. Once they move off the streets, these vendors are typically referred to as market vendors or micro entrepreneurs, although their businesses otherwise remain much the same. In most countries, local terms distinguish between different types of street vendors, based on the time or place in which they work. In official statistics in some countries, street vendors are a subset of the category “informal traders,” which also includes people who trade from their homes.