Dubai: A lot of people are indeed trying to scrimp and save these days, but for those who still have a grip on their personal finances, there's no better time to hit the stores than now that the 15th edition of Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is on.
Stores in Dubai are pulling out all stops in a bid to attract shoppers, dangling discounts as high as 75 per cent on a host of items, including fashion and accessories, home furnishings, cosmetics and electronics, among others.
The first few days of DSF already look promising. Retail outlets are reporting positive sales and footfall increases. "The turnout during the first week of the Dubai Shopping Festival has been very encouraging. The response from shoppers has been positive. The sales figures have exceeded our expectations so far. We are certain this trend will continue over the coming weeks," Viraf Raimalwala, general manager of Homes r Us, told Gulf News in an interview.
All you need to know about this year's DSF
Jimmy Patel, general manager of Jacky's Electronics, shared the same view, saying that they have noticed high shopper numbers and positive sales turnout since the opening day of DSF.
"The top malls seem to be active and vibrant with a good tourist flow adding impetus to our business. We are glad that our forecast is in line with the sales achievement so far and we hope to achieve a substantial chunk of our annual sales target in this one month of DSF," Patel told Gulf News.
Some shoppers agree that the shop racks are teeming with value-for-money pieces with price cuts as high as 70 per cent.
"I bought two really cute, beautifully designed party dresses from the store and they cost me only Dh128! Can you believe it? That's the price of a simple blouse in other shops," said one shopper outside clothing store Quiz in Dubai Mall.
The specials do not only come in the form reduced prices.
"There's also cash back offer to watch out for. A couple of days ago, I bought some stuff at Carrefour and there's one item I forgot which one that was part of the cash back promo. I was told to retain the receipt as I could avail of a Dh3 cash back the next time I shop. It's only Dh3, but if you buy lots of items, It means big savings," Jazmin Poblador, a shopper, said.
Some other stores may not offer discounts, but they do give away gift vouchers which can translate into savings. For example, Babyshop offers a Dh50 voucher for every purchase of Dh200, while at Beautybay, a Dh299 purchase entitles you to get a free fashionable bag.
