A Nintendo, a Kinect Xbox, a couple of Fossil watches and pairs of Reebok and Hush Puppies shoes. These are just a few of the bargains that Latha Ganes recently found in stores — and paid for.
The expatriate from India is a self-proclaimed fan of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). In the last few weeks, she took home bags of goodies and racked up more than Dh5,000 in shopping bills.
"I know I've gone over budget, but I bought them all at reduced prices. I didn't intend to buy anything at first, but when I saw the deals at different shops, it was hard to resist spending," she says.
While Ganes does find it difficult to beat the euphoria that comes with bargain hunting, she has not purchased anything for herself yet. "All those things I bought, I packed them in a box and sent it to India. I gave them all away as gifts to my parents, cousins and in-laws."
Apparently, she wasn't the only one waiting eagerly for DSF to arrive. "Back in India, people are aware of DSF, so some of my relatives asked me to buy them something. So, I only bought the ones that are affordable," she says. She agrees that the shopping spree is a bit heavy on the wallet.
“But I’ve no regrets. It’s the joy in giving that I value most. We’re currently running a little tight on the money aspect, though, so we may have to cancel our vacation plans this year,” she says.
That doesn't mean she's done with DSF shopping. "There's still something I want to buy for myself. I've already warned my husband that my time is going to come shortly," she says with a sheepish laugh.
Sharon Pereira, another Indian expat, admits she's an impulsive buyer, that’s why she only visits the malls once a month. But DSF is an exception. “I’ve been to the malls many times during DSF and I’m always on the lookout for great bargains,” she says.
She has just taken home two heavily discounted designer bags worth Dh3,400. "The two bags from Temperley and Burberry were at a 50 per cent discount and my husband paid for it. I also shopped for a small wallet from Guess which I think was from Dh150, and some great bargains at Adidas."
"I've definitely overspent this year, hence I won't be buying anything for the next month or so… Why am I always tempted to shop during DSF? It's just the human psyche I guess that with great deals, come great steals."
Loida Tan, another DSF shopper from the Philippines, can’t agree more. “I’ve been putting off my shopping plans just so I have money to spend during DSF. The fantastic discounts are hard to beat. I’m close to maxing out my credit card already, but hey, this comes only once a year,” she says.
Massive discounts
Part of the appeal of DSF, now in its 16th edition, is that retailers pull out all the stops to get hordes of shoppers through the door, dangling massive discounts of as much as 90 per cent and chances to win prizes like kilos of gold, luxury cars and millions worth of cash.
"The marketing objective of DSF has been to build equity of the brand of Dubai as a regional, and some would argue, global destination for shopping. Looking at the reported increase in retail sales, it is clear that DSF has become a huge success for Dubai and has delivered positive sales results," says Colin Beaton, managing director of Limelight Creative Services, a boutique retail strategy and design firm.
In 2009, the UAE retail sector registered lower retail value growth, owing to the global economic recession, which reshaped consumers' lifestyles and encouraged the culture of bargain hunting.
Experts, however, say that the shopping festivals such as DSF proved helpful in stimulating consumer spending and restoring consumer confidence to some extent. At the culmination of the 2009 event, visitor numbers reached 3.35 million and consumer spending hit Dh9.8 billion.
"The level of purchases made during [DSF and other shopping events[ helped compensate to some extent for the slowdown in non-grocery purchasing activity in the UAE during the first half of 2009," Euromonitor International says in a report.
During the period, Festival Centre, the retailing section of Dubai Festival City, posted a 67 per cent increase in footfall compared to the festival in 2008.
Increased footfall
This year, the sales figures are looking better and retailers are far more positive. The first two weeks of the DSF alone saw an average increase of 25 to 30 per cent on jewellery sales, thanks in part to the gold promotion which offers visitors and shoppers a chance to win 21 kilos of gold worth Dh3.5 million through raffle draws.
In terms of footfall, the Arabian Centre recorded 18 per cent increase in the number of shoppers visiting the mall during the same period. Beautybay, a retailer of fragrances, cosmetics and skincare products, reported a 15 per cent increase in footfall across its stores in Dubai. Among its bestsellers are color cosmetics and exclusive fragrance brands.
"There's been a festive mood around, as well as tourist influx. [Tourism]was a challenge in the last couple of years, but this year it seems we have overcome the challenge," Beautybay marketing manager Meenal Doogar tells Gulf News.
Shoe Mart registered a nine per cent increase in sales, scoring high on autumn, winter, spring and summer collections. "With the weather being cold and windy, this has helped our closed footwear sales better," says Mohammad Iqbal Yacoobali, Shoe Mart general manager.
Jumbo Electronics, for its part, is bullish it has met its target of 25 per cent increase in this year's DSF sales. "The response to DSF has been extremely encouraging as we have seen footfall into our stores steadily increasing since the beginning of the festival," a statement quoted Deepak Khetrapal, Jumbo Electronics CEO, as saying.
At Jacky's Electronics, chief operating officer Ashish Panjabi says the increase in footfall is noticeable across their outlets this year. "In terms of total top line sales, the DSF is like adding another month onto our calendar. This year has been no different, and sales typically double that of a normal month," he says.
"There were a lot more tourists, especially from Saudi Arabia, the Indian subcontinent and Chinese tourists. The impact of all these tourists was felt all over the country and even our outlets in Al Ain and Ajman reported an increase in the number of tourists shopping with us," he adds.
With Valentine's Day overlapping this year with DSF, as well as Chinese New year, he says there has been an increased amount of purchases of smart phones, tablets, DSLR cameras and television sets. "We've also seen more demand for LED, LCD and plasma televisions because of aggressive price drops and people upgrading their TVs before the Cricket World Cup," he says.
Panjabi gives credit to the attractive offers for boosting retailers' sales.
Much of the DSF success can't be purely credited to local consumer spending alone. "The strategic importance of DSF is that tourists spend, on average, twice as much or more than local residents when shopping. As a result, attracting shoppers from other countries has been hugely beneficial to local retailers," says Beaton.
He points out that DSF also extends beyond retail, providing a very broad-base financial benefit to Dubai. "Those shoppers also spend on food and beverage, hotels, rental cars, taxis, airlines."
Untapped potential
Still, there are certain areas where the shopping and entertainment bonanza can be improved, to further boost consumer spending.
Beaton notes that the DSF programme is focused on larger shopping centers and international brands, so one channel for growth would be to develop marketing or advertising programs that support smaller independent retailers and local communities.
"Taking the message and value proposition of DSF to a community level would expand the reach of DSF and provide assistance for the small and medium enterprises."
"I would look at the timing and see if there was a way to move the start of DSF back a few weeks to begin in early January. DSF normally starts in late January when many retailers are beginning to to merchandise their spring line and DSF promotions sometimes conflict with their merchandising calendar. It would be helpful to have DSF support the clearance of their winter stock before the spring merchandise arrives."
“Retailers themselves can promote more than a sale, they can develop value-add programs such a cross-merchandising, solution selling, co-branded promotions, product bundling and other more sophisticated marketing techniques that increase the average spend per shopper.”
Although the curtains will fall on the 16th edition of DSF soon, shopping deals still await residents. Organisers say the last days of DSF are still packed with spectacular discounts, along with amazing giveaways, prizes and entertainment.
“I’ve noticed that the best deals come towards the end of DSF where retailers have got to clear out stocks, hence you have additional bargains like ‘buy 2 get 2 free’, however, you may not get the best stuff then. Check out great discounts on different shoe brands,” says Pereira.
“Avoid the crowds, so the best time to go shopping is in the afternoon. That way, you can rummage through items by yourself. Flats or flip flops are the best to wear while scouting through the malls. Carry your own shopping bag. Drop by other malls that are not crowded with tourists. And lastly, keep a tab on your spending. Once you’ve reached a certain limit, get yourself to leave the mall.”
