The dynamic computer market in Jordan

Unusual social conditions generate unusual market situations. The still-not-over COVID-19 crisis has strongly affected the computer market in Jordan — not necessarily in a bad way.

When the lockdown was first imposed last March, and for about 10 to 12 weeks, everything became erratic in the IT market, from the way suppliers would obtain their goods to the purchasing pattern of the consumers. 

The first single, obvious item people rushed to buy was the webcam. Indeed, except for those who had a laptop that already was fitted with a camera, owners of desktop models needed to add a webcam to their setup, to be able to make video calls and meetings.

Even those who had an old laptop, with a poor resolution camera, went to buy webcams with better image and sound definition. This created a shortage of cameras. Amazingly, ever after the lockdown was lifted, and until today, the demand for good quality webcams and headsets did not abate.

Over the last couple of weeks, I paid a visit to eight of the most active, most representative, most popular computer stores in Amman. I did that on one hand to buy items for my own computing needs, and on the other to study and analyse the situation.

In short, all these vendors are experiencing soaring sales and are unable to meet the demand, in a general manner. Which in a certain way is a good thing, for them at least. It is a healthy market indicator. Beyond any doubt, the virus crisis has put digital technologies, computers, and the Internet, in the limelight even more than they were before.

Another interesting point is to see the very items that are more specifically in high demand. Apart from the above-mentioned webcams, laptop computers are now a most sought-after IT product. Interestingly they are even overtaking smartphones in terms of quantities sold. And here is a good reason for that.

However good is your smartphone and however big its screen, it cannot seriously compete with a full-size laptop to carry long video meetings and calls, especially those that involve more than two people. Besides, and here is the decisive point, a middle-of-the-road, but still very performing laptop based on an Intel Core i5 processor is not more expensive than a high-end smartphone. Lenovo, Dell, Asus and the like, offer you good laptops, with all the trendy bells and whistles for about JD400 to JD500. 

Another fast selling item is the large display monitor that you connect either to your desktop computer or to your laptop, when working at your desk. Currently the typical size is a good 24-inch. Samsung and Dell seem to reign in this market segment. There are so many models in this category that the choice displayed at the stores is truly overwhelming.

Many of the large stores in Amman have also made the commendable effort to build interactive websites where the online shopping experience is (almost) as thrilling as when going to Amazon or Alibaba giant international sites. By visiting them you can do the search you want, filter the results by any possible criterion, including by actual stock availability, order and pay online, and have the goods delivered to your doorstep, often for free if the purchase exceeds a couple of hundred dinars.

One thing is certain, the computer market in Jordan is alive and doing very well. High-demand, reasonable prices, considering all that you can do with the products, and the fact that IT goods are exempted from customs duties in the country, all are elements that contribute to make a dynamic market.