Dubai: The up to 90 per cent discounts and Black Friday promotions seem to be working with UAE shoppers, who are finding time outside of the World Cup match-time to place their orders or visit the shops. And starting tomorrow (November 25) and through the weekend, some serious shopping can be expected as part of Dubai’s ‘Super Sale’ promotion.
Retail industry sources say that during these three days, the heaviest shopping will likely start early and through until late afternoon. Then the World Cup matches will start and that could drain away some of the buying fervour.
Also, Brazil’s first match at the World Cup is set for later today, and that’s a huge relief for retailers because that ensures there will be no direct clash with the Super Sale. (Brazil’s second game is on November 28.)
“Every retailer knew that they would have to compete head on with FIFA World Cup for shopper attention, and they were prepared to be aggressive with their discounts and offers,” said an industry source.
Retailers upped the game by throwing in cashback offers and zero-interest instalment schemes on top of the discounts. “TV retail prices are off by 10-15 per cent on average, and that’s one product on top of everyone’s shopping list,” said Sandeep Ganediwalla, regional Partner at RedSeer Consulting.
“There aren’t that heavy a discount on the iPhone 14 range and other flagship smartphone models. What we see is even previous year models too haven’t seen any heavy price drop.”
"However, a majority of these card savings are lost to customers who do not have the 'right cards'.
Fashion is scoring
Based on the first few days of the Black Friday promotions going live, clothing, accessories and fragrances have got off to a good start. The Dubai Super Sale should see these categories getting into full form.
Apart from the deals on offseason clothing, the strong dollar is also helping UAE shoppers with their latest purchases. Latest season merchandise from Asia and Europe have seen prices hold steady, with UAE’s retailers benefitting from the dirham-dollar peg. What this means for shoppers is that retailers are passing on those shipping cost benefits to them.
And travel too could emerge with sustained demand in the coming days. Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is lining ups its own 'Black Friday' offers through fares 'as low as Dh895 to Mumbai and Dh3,995 to New York'. Trips to Istanbul have ticket prices from Dh1,995 in Economy and Dh11,995 for Business class.
If UAE residents have travel plans for December, then many of them will have started on their purchases - fashion, fragrances, upgrades to latest smartphones - right about now.
There was concern that UAE residents would turn cautious on all non-essential spending because of retail price rises from inflation - and worries that a recession is waiting in the near-term. So far, there is little evidence to show that they have soured on spending, and according to one retailer, the year-end mood has started early because of the World Cup in Doha.
All eyes will be on the malls and online offers tomorrow - those 70-90 per cent offers await shoppers.
