Retailers report steady back-to-school sales Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

Retailers are elated to see a surge in back-to-school shopping ahead of the September 19 start.

The Ministry of Education, Vocational and Technological Training has yet to confirm the format for the new school year, but parents have wasted no time to race to Bridgetown to purchase school necessities.

Operations director of Swan Street store, Abed’s Co & Ltd, Alex Abed reported a noticeable surge in sales in comparison to 2021, when classes resumed online.

“Compared to last year where back-to-school didn’t happen for COVID-19, the demand is definitely noticeable. With Cave Shepherd no longer doing school clothes, we have seen an uptake in the amount of people for back-to-school. There are always those in need and those who need more having to decide between buying more than one uniform of four children or one for each of them,” he shared.

The Swan Street branch of Abed’s was noticeably bustling with a crowd swarming the uniform section of the store.

Meanwhile, managing director of department store Woolworth, Martin Bryan told Loop News there has been a steady flow of customers but he expected business to get hectic on the weekend before school commenced.

“Bajans are last minute so it has been quite steady but we reckon in the next two weeks it will be brisk because you have…two more weekends and we reckon we will have an influx of customers by then,” Bryan said.

He added: “The last two years there have been no back-to-school so we were struggling in terms of uniforms. We were stuck with a lot of the uniforms but this year we have definitely seen a drastic increase….We are grateful for that so we hope life continues as normal.”

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