Clothing sales in Jordan dropped 50 per cent during Id this year compared to the same period in 2018. Demand was especially low during June and July. Customs fees and taxes imposed on the sector have reached 47 per cent, causing the kingdom to lose its competitive edge. Other challenges facing the sector include illegal e-commerce and the mail package trade that abuses regulations and allows entry of goods with exemption from customs fees. Anyone with a passport and a national identification number can order up to five packages a month, with exemption from customs. However, people abuse these regulations and use friends’ passports to order goods without having to pay extra customs or taxes and then sell these goods at low prices. This is an illegal form of trade known as mail package trade.

E-commerce allows people to have virtual shops without having to pay operational costs, taxes and other fees and costs as a committed trader would. Random issue of licenses has caused an overflow of shopping malls in areas that are very close to each other. There has been a call for studying commercial locations and putting mechanisms in place that regulate which spaces can be used commercially.