Dubai: Shopping is a core part of Dubai’s identity and one of the main leisure activities to take part in throughout the year. Dubai usually hosts two major shopping events annually; The Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) and the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF). There are of course a few pop-ups here and there, mid-season sales, end of season sales, and so on. You can almost never pay full price for anything in Dubai if you are patient enough.
DSF has been around for 26 years, while DSS has celebrated its 23rd year this past summer. In fact this year’s shopping events are extra special. DSS was the first major festival in the city since the COVID-19 outbreak, so in a way, the sales signs were a symbol of life returning back to normal in Dubai.
As for DSF, the event was incredibly successful for the malls as well as food outlets, homegrown businesses and unique pop-ups across the city. After seven weeks of promotions and sales, DSF ended with a final weekend of celebration.
The closing 72 hours, which took place from January 28 to 30, featured a mix of memorable retail moments, a video dance competition for social media users, drone shows and much more as the clock ticked down until the end of the 26th edition.
The DSF Final Sale also offered shoppers savings of up to 90 per cent available on a wide selection of products and must-have items, while footwear lovers searched for exclusive new looks, customised their own shoe styles, tuned in to talks from iconic influencers and much more at the amazing Shoetopia pop-up at The Dubai Mall’s Fashion Catwalk.
Now that the sale is over...
In February 2021, DSF has come to an end and the Final Sale was the last event to take place during the shopping season. The 26th year of the annual festival kicked off on December 17, 2020, with an action-packed opening weekend of live music, markets, and family entertainment.
And today, it’s been a few days since the latest edition of DSF has come to an end. Retailers all over the city were offering shoppers a final chance to shop the great discounts.
But now that the sale has officially ended, Gulf News wanted to explore whether or not the discounts have continued into February 2021.
Is there still a sale at the mall?
Yes, but not everywhere. Most stores have gone back to their pre- sale prices, while others are hosting part-sales, with only a portion of the store is on sale. More specifically the previous collections that need to be sold, in order to make room for the new collections.
Are there sales still online?
Yes. Even online stores have clearance racks that they need to get rid of. In recent years, more and more retailers have extended their sales online, rather than adhere to certain dates. These flexibilities when it comes to shopping makes it possible for shoppers to browse and buy from their couch or on their smartphone rather than having to deal with the mall.
Home furnishing
“I have noticed that some furniture stores have actually kept some of their discounted prices a few days after the sale,” Mona Abdel Rahman said to Gulf News. “I had my eye on two armchairs and the store told me that it would be discounted only for a few extra days, but not for much longer.” Three days after the last day of the sale, the price of the chair went back up to the original.
Home furniture stores have definitely maintained some items on sale, especially when these items are the previous season.
What about the fashion?
Yes. After scouring the mall, I saw that plenty of stores that were offering a part sale. After further investigation and asking sales representatives, I learned that all the stores only have a sale on selected items and these selected items are the clearance bits, that the store will keep on sale until stocks run out.
One saleswoman at a fast fashion store explained that it should probably take around one week for last season’s stocks to get sold.
Electronics
At the moment electronics stores in malls are no longer on sale. These items are best to buy during the designated sale period. However, online stores like Noon, Amazon and even the online stores of big electronics retailers here are offering sales online.
Why do stores have sales?
To get customers to buy more
There is no denying that the presence of a sale sign, even without a price reduction, can increase sales. Sometimes people don’t buy items simply because they see the purchase as being too risky. If an item is on sale, customers would generally be more willing to buy because they know they’re not putting as much money on the line.
Usually customers who like what they find on sale, will come back and buy more, even if the store is no longer offering any discounts.
It’s pretty hard not to see regular-priced goods as you shop a sale. For example, you might see full-priced batteries right next to a music player that’s on sale. You might buy the batteries even though they’re not on sale, because you know you’ll need the batteries if you buy the player.
To get rid of old collections
Sometimes, stores have new inventory coming in and instead of overstocking their shelves will move all of the older collections to one side in order to make room for the new. The trick is to get you inside the store, once there you can see the beautifully displayed new collections, which most people usually end up buying. Stores will have a sale to try to move out the extra items, knowing they’ll need the space in their storerooms or warehouses for other products in the near future. The need to make room for new products is why you’ll often see big sales after big shopping festivals or holidays, as well as at the end of each season.
To raise awareness
Sometimes all you need is a sales sign to get people to pay attention to your brand. Once you offer a few items on sale, it helps make more people aware of your offering and as a result cause a surge in customers.
What's left to do related to DSF?
The DSF Supercar Raffle will remain open until 30 March with tickets available on the DSF website.
This year’s mega DSF raffles kept excitement levels high as residents and visitors tried their luck to win a W Motors Fenyr SuperSport, worth a Dh6 million, an INFINITI QX60 sedan and a brand-new Nissan vehicle. The DSF Supercar Raffle, INFINITI Mega Raffle and Nissan Grand Raffle were open for entries throughout the final weekend, withdraws for an INFINITI QX60 car and a Nissan, plus cash prizes, taking place on the last day of DSF.
