Bundle offers do the trick at Dubai's Gitex Shopper

Khaleej Times spoke to a host of different consumers to find out why they turned out on the first day.

Walking through the exhibition halls of Gitex Shopper, you'll be hard pressed not to part with your cash; even if you didn't plan on it.
With salespeople jumping out at you from every direction, voices bellowing out from the speakers tempting you with "huge savings", "best prices", and all the other jargon that comes with discount marketing, this five-day retail haven still has high demand in Dubai.
Though price points for products may not be hugely different to what you find in-store or online; the appeal of Gitex Shopper is the bundle offers. It's the event that gives residents more bang for their buck.
From smartphones to laptops, and fitness watches to big screen TVs, consumers filled halls 4-6 at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) on Tuesday, the first day of the event.
Khaleej Times spoke to a host of different consumers to find out why they turned out on the first day.
With Dh4,000 in his pocket and a willingness to spend, Filipino expatriate Raymond Albert heard about the event from a Facebook live feed on Monday.
"It was my day off. I've been saving this money up for quite some time now, so I paid Dh20 for a ticket and headed down. The discounts and freebies on offer is what brought me here. You buy one product and get five or six in return."
With the aim to buy a gaming laptop, he said he was planning to scope out the products first, before diving into a purchase.
"I heard prices drop dramatically during the last few hours on the last day, so I'll probably wait to buy then. It's the smart approach."
British expat Matt Lees is a first-timer to Gitex Shopper. On the hunt for "PC stuff, with a specific focus on hardware" he said the ability to barter is what makes the shopping experience better here.
"In terms of money savings, you're paying similar prices to the kind of sales that happen during Eid and Ramadan. But what I like is that you can haggle; you can't do that in a shop. You get more for your money too. It's not so much about saving, it's about getting lots in return for the price of one thing."
And retired visitor to Dubai, Ashok Chodia, said he was there to shop for his daughter.
"I don't work anymore, my daughter does. So I'm here to scope out a good deal for her. She wants a TV and maybe a laptop. So I'll see what bundle offers I can get her. It's good to have all the competitors in one place so you can see who's giving the best deals."
From Happy Hour deals during peak hours, to wacky bundle deals, including a TV and car bundle offer for Dh89,999 (saving you Dh55,000), visitors can also attend open sessions offering tips and tricks on how to get the most out of their existing, or newly purchased, products.

Tips and Tricks Corner - Hall 6

Wednesday October 3
>3pm-3.45pm: DSLR vs Point N Shoot + best tips on using SLR
5pm-5.45pm - Videography 101 (DSLRs)
>6pm-6.45pm: Picking the right TV, calibrating it, making your TV Smart
>7pm-7.45pm - How to take great pictures from your phone camera (front and back)
Thursday October 4
>3pm-3.45pm: Gaming Console vs PC. How to build your gaming PC. What games to play
>4pm-4.45pm:  What to look for when buying a laptop
>6pm-6.45pm:  Five things to look for when, and after, buying a new phone
kelly@khaleejtimes.com   

Kelly Clarke

• kelly@khaleejtimes.com