Thinking twice about non-essentials

I used to be an incurably impulsive buyer. I'd go into the mall for some toiletries and come out with new shoes, blouses and coats that I later soberly tucked away in the closet.

But as I browsed through the tonnes of shops at Dubai Festival City lately, I could feel my consumer confidence waning. The cheap, cool deals at Plug-Ins Electronics could not even resuscitate my mood to buy.

One of the things that caught my attention was a tiny, black digital camera that cost a little over Dh1,000. Its 14-megapixel count was unbelievably higher than that of the Dh4,000 Single Lens Reflex (SLR) that my friend has been eyeing for a year now.

There's no doubt a digital SLR is the ultimate pick for photo enthusiasts. But a high-megapixel compact camera that costs and weighs less at the same time isn't such a bad choice for a consumer on a budget.

Yet, even though the price was so temptingly cheap, I could not even resolve to buy it.

My mind treaded on a strange path. I pondered in silence the two cameras I had tinkered with in one year and how they had let me down. Then, there's my own Christmas gift list I had yet to finish and more urgent stuff to buy. And so, home I went and left the camera behind. My consumer confidence was shattered.

I'm not the only one. Fellow UAE consumers can identify with my gloom. After polling over 26,000 online consumers in September, The Nielsen Company found that UAE residents are now spending less on luxury items as they continue to worry over the impact of the credit crisis on their wallets.

Consumers interviewed by Gulf News also said they have revised their spending patterns and cut down expenses on new clothes, bags, shoes, entertainment and out-of-home dining, to save more than they used to.

"I have to make sure I save because we don't know what's going to happen next. I used to shop for clothes, bags or shoes five times a month. Now, I make it a point to shop only twice a month. And when I buy, I go for the cheapest brand," Min Poblador, an expatriate working in Dubai said.

Such sentiments are valid. Consumers in the UAE have seen a blast of bad news: real estate firms have retrenched employees and scaled down property projects, while lending institutions have tightened credit conditions. "When there are less jobs and people are worried about their job security, they tend to tighten their belts," said Piyush Mathur, The Nielsen Company's regional managing director for Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.

Consumer spending is definitely the foundation of an economy. If consumers spend less, a nation's productivity could slow down. So, should I buy the camera to help grow the economy? Or should I keep the money for a rainy day? All things considered, I still need to be re-assured it would not hurt to spend money on non-essentials.