Dubai: Consumer electronics retailers who raked in good sales on the first day of the Gitex consumer electronics retail show on Saturday couldn’t quite match that show on Sunday.

On the sidelines of the show, there are some retailers selling watches and unbranded home appliances, and they said sales left much to be desired in comparison to last year.

V. Rafeeque, assistant manager at City Moments, said that sales are down sharply compared to last year. People are coming in and taking a look, but not buying watches on display, he said.

“Last year, the sales were quite good. This year, the sales are down by 20 per cent in the first two days of the event despite giving better offers than last year. This year, we are giving a watch free with every purchase and the prices are reduced between 50 and 70 per cent,” he said.

City Moments is anticipating better sales in the last two days.

Chai Xin, sales manager at Fubisun Malaysia, which has lined up juicers, blenders and neck massagers, said that people are only buying mobile phones and laptops.

She said that sales were not good on Sunday but the first day was relatively okay. Recalling that business was very good last year, she said she hoped to make up ground over the last two days of the show.

Nadeem Khanzadah, head of omnichannel retail at Jumbo Group, said that sales on Sunday had been quite slow when compared to the opening day. Usually Sunday, Monday and Tuesday witness slower sales than the first day and the last three days of the show.

“It was expected to be slower but it was lower in sales than we expected,” he said.

Many buyers are waiting for the last two days hoping for retailers to sweeten bundle offers and reduce prices.

Neelesh Bhatnagar, CEO of Emax Electronics, said that sales were “slower than we expected but it was better than last year”.

“Home appliances were just an introduction from our side. Sales were reasonable and not in line with our IT or smartphone sales. Customers are showing interest in personal care products, vacuum cleaners and microwave ovens,” he said.

As the footfall increases, Bhatnagar hopes the demand for home appliances will also increase.