Customers rush to grab Gitex deals before VAT

Dubai - Many agreed that visitor sentiment at present revolved around a 'buy now, before the VAT' approach.

Customers at Gitex Shopper 2017 are making the most of the electronics exhibition by scooping up the best deals on their favourite products before the value added tax (VAT) goes live next year.
Retail experts at the highly anticipated event noted the large numbers of customers arriving early in the morning, despite it being a weekday. Many agreed that visitor sentiment at present revolved around a 'buy now, before the VAT' approach. "People expect the prices of electronic products to go up once the VAT rolls around so they are definitely preponing many of their electronic purchases. We can definitely expect to see an impact of the VAT on sales this year," says Priyam Agrawal, GM of EMax Electronics.
Speaking on the sidelines of the exhibition, he shared what EMax would be bringing to shoppers for this edition of the event. "Unfortunately, there aren't any major launches from the various big brands this year, but we have a number of very exciting offers. For our premium customers we have a 'Spin-the-wheel' promotion where they have a chance to win some amazing prizes such as new phones, TVs, and laptops, on purchases of Dh5,000 or more. Similarly, we have a promotion for consumers who spend Dh3,000 and above. They can try their luck at the 'Magic Box' and win a number of prizes as well."
Agrawal also revealed that EMax would be having a number of great home appliance deals. "Summer is approaching, and people might want to change their ACs, so we have covered those segments as well."
He further revealed that the most popular categories at Gitex have traditionally been laptops and mobiles. "This year as well, we know that laptops and mobiles will be a much sought after category, but gaming is a segment that is slowly catching up, and we expect that segment to do very well this year. Virtual reality (VR) headsets have also proven to be a very popular item, to the point that there has been a reported shortage in the market for them. We have secured a supply for our customers and will be offering them at our stand."
Asked if the recent acquisition of Souq.com by online giant, Amazon, would have an impact on traditional brick-and-mortar retailers in the UAE, Agrawal said that Emax wasn't expecting a "price war."
"Online e-commerce will definitely get a boost, but you have to remember that the UAE is a much more regulated market than the US. We are aggressively pushing into the online sphere since that is what consumers in the UAE are expecting of us," he said.
Like Agrawal, Mahesh Chotrani, assistant vice president of Jacky's Electronics, said that electronic products sales would see a spike before the introduction of the VAT, but he expected that to happen in the last quarter of the year. However, he also pointed out that consumers would soon adapt to the change. "The VAT is a long-term initiative, so people will soon get used to any change in prices and shopping for electronic items will soon continue."
Asked what were the most sought after products at Gitex this year, Chotrani pointed to 2-in-1 notebooks in the convertibles segment, followed by gaming notebooks. He also pointed to an increasing demand for large HD and UHD smart TVs, especially those in the 55-inch and above home category. "As always there is a demand for smartphones, particularly the latest Samsung and iPhone models, and lastly, we have the SLR cameras such as Canon and Nikon, which are also drawing large crowds this year."
VR to drive gaming segment
The gaming industry in the UAE is on a steady upward trend, driven by the demand from consumers for the latest products in the market.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Gitex Shopper exhibition, Raghav Koorichh, consumer brand manager for EMEA emerging markets at Dell, said that the gaming industry in the UAE is worth around $1 billion and is expected to hit $4 billion by 2020.
"We see a huge potential in this market," he said. "While the rest of our categories have been recording a stable performance, the gaming segment has been seeing double digit growth. The PC gaming category, in particular, has been growing over the last two years. A lot of people are actively getting into the gaming experience due to a number of new technologies that are driving the demand in the segment."
One such technology that has captured the imagination of consumers is virtual reality (VR). Koorichh noted that VR-enabled devices have seen a huge spike in demand and are popular with consumers of all ages. "VR has really attracted a whole new generation of gamers, and we have been catering to this segment by expanding our portfolio of gamer products."
Asked about the spending power of gamers in the UAE, Koorichh explained that while gaming as a category was still considered a niche segment, it was steadily growing. "Gamers in the UAE know their technology. They are well informed about the latest products in the market, since a lot of them follow video blogs on the latest product launches. Because of this, they want the latest products and we have to do our best to provide them with what they want."
Over 35,000 products to be found
The Gitex Shopper Spring Edition 2017 opened on Wednesday, with retailers showcasing over 35,000 products, bundle offers and competitions, all under one roof.
Buti Saeed Al Ghandi, second vice chairman of the board, Dubai World Trade Centre Authority, officially inaugurated the event. Power retailers, E-Max, Jacky's Electronics, Jumbo Electronics, Plug Ins, and Sharaf DG, are all showcasing their latest devices, gadgets and accessories, as shoppers eagerly filled their baskets with exclusive bundles and offers at the event. Visitors who spend Dh1,500 and more are entered into a prize draw to win Dh25,000 cash prize every day of the show, while 40 Dell Inspiron 11 3168 laptops will be snapped up in the Visit and Win raffle, and another 40 laptops are available in the Scratch and Win raffle. Brands at the show include Acer, Asus, Alienware, Apple, Canon, Dell, HP, Hisense, Huawei, Isukoshi, LG, Lava, Lenovo, Nestle, Nikon, Microsoft, Moto, Oppo, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, and more.
Students visiting Gitex Shopper this week will have the opportunity to submit their best report cards to win four university scholarships offered by Amity University Dubai, with a value of Dh37,500 each. Applicable to any Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree offered by the University, one scholarship will be awarded to the student submitting the report card with the highest marks each day of the four day event.
Gitex Shopper Spring 2017 runs from March 29 to April 1, and opens from 11:00am to 11:00pm every day. This year, tickets for Gitex Shopper will be priced at the special price Dh20 for all days and are available to buy online, as well as select UAE Exchange outlets. Entry is free for children below the age of five.
Top deals at Gitex Shopper 2017
Emax
Microsoft Surface Pro 4: Was Dh4,499; pay only Dh2,999 with cashback worth Dh1,500
Jumbo
Samsung 65" SUHD Curved TV (UA65KS9500): Dh14,999; get Dh6,000 voucher
Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 Edge: Get Dh1,922 worth of freebies, including GearVR2
Jacky's
Sony 75" Android 4K TV (KDL75X8500D): Dh12,999; get a free Moto Z worth Dh2,299
Samsung 65" UDH Curved TV (UA65KU7350): Dh8,999; get a free 128GB iPhone 7 worth Dh2,999 and Yashica sound bar worth Dh499 (Dh3,498 savings)
Samsung 55" SUHD 4K Curved TV: Dh8,499; get a free Moto Z worth Dh2,299, Yashica sound bar worth Dh499 and gift voucher worth Dh700 (Dh3,498 savings)
Sharaf DG
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge: 53% off; pay Dh1,499 instead of Dh2,299
Samsung 78# SUHD 4K Curved smart LED TV (UA78KS9500KXZN): Pay Dh24,999 instead of Dh34,999 (save Dh10,000)
LG 65" Super UHD smart TV (65UH770V) and BMW 320i: Pay Dh95,999 instead of Dh151,799 (save Dh55,800)
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai