Shoppers brush up on haggling skills at Gitex Shopper

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Shoppers brush up on haggling skills at Gitex Shopper

Published: Wed 25 Sep 2019, 6:09 PM

Last updated: Thu 26 Sep 2019, 7:53 PM

If there was ever a shopping event that puts power into the hands of the consumer, and their haggling skills, then it wold be Gitex Shopper, officials said during the ongoing event at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC).
"It is a highly anticipated event, and there is no doubt that shoppers put off their purchases so that they can make the most of the deals. This was demonstrated by our period of low sales in the week leading up to the event, and we know for a fact that consumers were waiting for Gitex to begin," said Pankaj Kumar, head of OmniChannel Retail at Jumbo Electronics.
Avinash Shanbhogue, portfolio director - Exhibitions, Events Management at DWTC, added that shoppers are tech savvy and know exactly what they want.
"At the end of the day, we are all consumers, and we love a good deal, which is why Gitex is the most anticipated electronics shopping event of the year. The retailers wait, the consumers wait, the anticipation builds up, and the deals that pop up as a result are fantastic. And, of course, the shoppers love to haggle."
This, he noted, is not something that shoppers can do online.
A standard DSLR camera by Nikon or Canon, that would set shoppers back by close to Dh4,000 in a store, would be priced at less than Dh3,000 and come with a range of freebies. Similarly, laptops that fall into the Dh3,000 to Dh3,500 range, are marked down to around Dh2,000, and shoppers have the option of further reductions if they refuse any of the items that form part of the package deal. Mirrorless cameras, especially those that are being launched by FujiFilm, and which have caught the imagination of photography enthusiasts, can be found at bundle offers for less than Dh2,000, with the high-end ones falling just under the Dh10,500 price tag.
"The thing that differentiates the Gitex experience is the fact that you get deals and bundle offers," noted Shanbhogue. "You can buy a camera or a laptop, and they will give you a bag, a pair of headphones, and a Bluetooth speaker, depending on the value of your purchase. In addition, there are the daily raffles draws, trade in offers, the deals of the day, and flash sales."
Similarly, Narayan Agarwal, chief finance officer at Emax, noted that shoppers come to Gitex because they are delighted with the fact that they can get more value for their money. "Shoppers, especially returning ones, are ready to negotiate. They will go to different stands to find out about prices before going to a seller and then asking about the best deal that they can get. This is not something that you can get in a store."
- rohma@khaleejtimes.com

by

Rohma Sadaqat

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