Muscat – Once bustling with shoppers looking for a quick bargain on used furniture and electronic items, Souq Juma – Friday market – in Wadi Kabir, Muscat, wears a desolate look these days.

The economic stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with desperate discount offers by hypermarkets and furniture stores to lure in customers, has resulted in a double whammy for the sprawling weekend fair.

‘Every shop in the city offering discounts’
Ahmed, a trader at Souq Juma, said, “We buy in bulk from shops closing down business or clearing old stock and sell these in retail at the souq. But almost every shop in the city is offering discounts and sales every second week. It’s one of the reasons why people are not visiting the souq.”

According to Ahmed, owing to few shoppers, traders usually have to wait eight to nine weeks for returns on investments ‘because Souq Juma opens only one day a week – on Fridays’.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, another trader said, “We come to the souq at around 4am and wait till 8pm. We hardly make any profits. Last week, I did not do business of even a single rial. Before the pandemic, I used to make around RO200–300.”

Families not visiting
The absence of families visiting the souq is another reason for abysmal business. “Earlier families, with children in the town, came and bought toys and knick-knacks. Now we rarely see families visiting the souq,” Ahmed said.

He added that pre-pandemic, many people came to offer Friday prayers in the mosque by the souq and shopped before leaving. “It was like an outing for them. Suspension of Friday prayers added to our woes,” Ahmed said.

Many traders attribute the absence of shoppers in the souq to COVID-19, but despite the challenges they continue to set up shop every Friday to keep the souq running. “If I think only about profits, it’s not worth the effort,” said another trader.

“For us, Souq Juma is a place to meet our friends. It is not a place to do business anymore,” Ahmed rued.

(Text and photo by Syed Fasiuddin)