Dubai: With some of the biggest discounts available in recent years, shoppers in the UAE are snapping up smartphones and laptops, with the ‘Back to School’ promotions and trade-in possibilities adding to the demand.
Prices have been cut 30-50 per cent depending on the model and product range, while the latest launches are all being backed by bundled offers and split payment plans (if the buyer chooses to do so).
This sell-off is taking place simultaneously with the launch and steady shopper interest in AI-enabled gadgets, whether it’s in smartphones, PCs, or another appliance that’s trending.
So, these two parallel tracks – older models backed by sizeable discounts and shiny AI feature enabled new launches – are revving up the UAE marketplace. Retailers say this is the best they have seen in 2-3 years.
Online retailers are also going all in with Back to School offers, with e& extending price-offs of up to 45 per cent on smartphones and 30 per cent on laptops and tablets.
UAE tech shoppers are in upgrade mood
The current Back to School – and the summer promotions before that - has single-handedly revived sales in the smartphone category after nearly 6-8 months of tepid demand, tech retailers say, with even older versions of the Apple iPhone – the 13 and 14 – holding their own alongside that of the current iPhone 15. (And next month will come the iPhone 16, which will be Apple’s first with its version of AI features.)
Recent weeks have also seen Samsung helped by the launches of the Galaxy Z Fold6 and Flip6. The Honor brand is another gaining from the gradual build up of demand for the niche flip/flop smartphones, with its Magic V2 model. And the biggest gainer in recent weeks? Huawei with the Pura 70.
“On smartphones, if it’s not AI, then new designs and hardware upgrades or tweaks, including superior cameras, are feeding the current demand in the UAE,” said Rajat Asthana, Chief Operating Officer at Eros Group.
“Older models are heavily discounted and that’s an effective way to target the budget-conscious customer - and without diluting the premium on the newer range of phones.
“Huawei had been doing much better this year with the new models being well-received.”
This is ‘unprecedented’
While some form of discounts have always been part of the UAE retail experience, this year’s summer and Back to School promotions seem to have struck the bull’s eye. On older models, it’s a straight discount, whether that’s 30 per cent off or 50 even per cent.
Vikas Chada is the CEO of Jumbo Group, and what he has to say is that the ‘level of discounts available is unprecedented’.
“The brands themselves are pressing retailers to offer specific discounts that would help convince shoppers to upgrade their smartphone or PC,” said Chada. “The biggest surge we are feeling now is on laptops, while demand for smartphones is finally out of the tough times of the past 1 year.
“The best part of all this is there’s still days to go before the iPhone 16 launches and the first wave of models to reach this market.” (September 10 is the launch date.)
Ahead of this year’s main promotions, many retailers were getting worried about their stock build ups and the less than overwhelming demand for models launched earlier in the year. “You had a situation where a flagship smartphone model would launch and only the brand’s fans would buy,” said an online retailer. “Even of the iPhone 15, sales really started to pick up in the past 2-3 months.”
It was also around June that the buzz around AI and AI enabled gadgets started to build up. And there were many UAE shoppers who were ready for it.
“Within a month of the launch of AI (enabled) PCs in UAE, more than 11 per cent of all Sharaf DG’s PCs sold are now AI-powered,” said Nilesh Khalkho, CEO of Sharaf DG.
“We have over 35 SKUs (stock keeping unit) listed to choose from and an additional 30 are on their way to further improve the choice of AI PCs.”
This year marks the start of the 'Age of AI'. Within a month of the launch of AI PCs in UAE, more than 11% of all Sharaf DG PCs sold are now AI-powered
Buybacks play their part
The UAE tech retailer is also running a ‘Windows Buyback’ program, and that too is helping with ‘faster adoption’ of AI PCs.
“This year marks the start of a new era - the Age of AI,” said Khalko. “The ‘guaranteed value back’ initiative (was introduced), wherein Sharaf DG guarantees future trade-in value of laptops. It has been a key differentiator and over 500 customers have locked upgrade values of their laptops since the beginning of this school season.”
