The anniversary coincides with the UAE’s decision to extend the ‘Year of Sustainability’
Several visitors attended the event after putting much of their electronic shopping on hold, as they anticipated great value-for-money deals. While the majority of the shoppers had come to buy electronics for themselves, there were quite a few who took the opportunity to buy items for their friends and family back home.
Hamza Ali, a Dubai resident, said many of his friends had come to the exhibition with a clear idea of what they wanted to buy. "I already knew what smartphone model I wanted to buy and so did my friends. We are just looking at the deals to see which one works best for us."
Like Ali, Hasan Rasool said he already knew what he wanted to buy, but had chosen to wait for Gitex to start. "I really wanted the new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. My sister has the S6 Edge and is very pleased with it, so I knew I wanted the new model when it came out. But everyone told me to wait until Gitex came around so that I could get a good deal out of it."
Several shoppers who had attended the event with the aim of purchasing a new electronic item for themselves said there was a lot to see, and that it was hard not to get tempted by the various deals.
Laila Fahim, who was at the event with her husband, said they had arrived to purchase a smartphone for their son, but were also interested in buying a new TV for themselves. "We wanted to just buy a phone, but there are some really good deals on the smart TVs here. I really like the curved screen ones, but they are a bit pricey right now, so we will probably wait to get one," she said.
Another Dubai resident, Omar Benseddik, who visited with a friend, noted that the presence of multiple retailers at the exhibition was great news for shoppers.
"I was interested in buying a projector for myself, and my friend wanted to buy a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and we were not limited to only one retailer. We discussed with eight of them, compared the offers and made a sound decision. I ended up not buying, but my friend got a pretty good deal on his S7 Edge. He got a kind of Go-Pro with it and a wireless charger. Another good thing is that the event was not limited to smartphones and computer stuff; we had the opportunity to buy home appliances for a fair price."
However, Benseddik also said he had higher expectations of the event. "I thought it would be bigger and more of a futuristic event, and there was nothing really surprising. The deals were okay, nothing amazing honestly - I don't see a selfie stick gift as an offer."
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com
The anniversary coincides with the UAE’s decision to extend the ‘Year of Sustainability’
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