Residents of Nazran are forced to save on school supplies.
Due to rising prices, residents of Nazran have started buying school clothing only seasonally, and stationery as needed.
As reported by "Caucasian Knot", residents of Ingushetia are facing rising prices and expenses related to their children's education. For instance, in March 2022, a resident of the republic reported an increase in the price of a ream of paper from 270 to 400 rubles. In September 2021, residents of the republic complained about fees in schools and kindergartens, noting that such expenses are particularly burdensome for families with multiple children.
Before the start of the school year, the market in Nazran changed its assortment: school supplies such as notebooks, diaries, pens, albums, pencil cases, backpacks, and uniforms became predominant. Demand changes literally within a few days before the school year, as stated in a video report published on the "Magas" TV channel's website.
Vendors mainly sell school supplies during August, said a seller at the market in Nazran Aся Яндиева. "Now all our customers go to stores. [...] No one wants to buy at the fair anymore. Although we are always cheaper here by default," she said in the TV channel's video report.
Parents have stopped stocking up as they used to: clothing is now purchased seasonally, and stationery as needed due to rising prices, noted the TV channel. According to the most modest estimates, a first-grader's kit costs at least 13,500 rubles excluding textbooks, with the most expensive category of expenses being school uniforms, as stated in the report.
Customers have stopped stocking up on stationery for six months or a year, noted another seller at the market in Nazran Aйшат Мальсагова. "Because prices have skyrocketed. But we try to keep it steady. We don't add much, just a little [to the price]," she explained.
The ability to gather everything a child needs for school in one place while saving money is one of the reasons parents choose the market. For schoolchildren, it is also an opportunity to choose the items they will use throughout the school year, noted the TV channel.
Families make school purchases gradually, said a lower-grade student from Nazran. "We bought a uniform, shirts, a pencil case, and pens. Now we are going to the base to buy me a uniform, backpacks, pens, and notebooks," she said in the video footage.
After the start of the school year, school supplies will again be replaced by seasonal goods, and the market will return to selling regular clothing, noted the TV channel.