Demand for school supplies low as parents await paycheques

AMMAN — The demand for school stationery items is relatively low, according to Head of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Nael Kabariti.

“The purchasing power of families is low. They are all waiting for their paycheques so that they can complete their kids’ back to school checklist,” Kabariti told The Jordan Times over the phone on Monday.

“There is just so much to be done before our kids go back to school, but at the same time we are hesitant about the possibility of shifting back to virtual learning ,” Dima, a mother of two girls who preferred to go by her first name, told The Jordan Times on Monday.

She said that she will not rush things. She is waiting for the first two weeks of school. If nothing changes and her daughters continue to go to school, she will buy the rest of the school supplies. 

“I bought the things that my daughters do not have, but they will be using things from previous years,” Dima said.

Mustafa Mohammad, a stationery shop employee, told The Jordan Times that the “demand is still very low, but he hopes that the situation will get better”.