UAE Clothing, Jewelry and Electronics Retailers Expected to Enjoy Increased Sales

San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/01/2012 -- Clothing, jewelry, and electronics retailers are expected to enjoy their highest sales of the year during Eid, when many stores offer 24 hours of shopping.

Analysts say the 24-hour shopping initiative should bump up sales during the Eid Al Adha period, when tourists and residents alike flood local malls.

“Given the fact that the local population and tourists from neighbouring Gulf states usually prefer shopping at night, as their mall visits tend to be after 10 p.m., the extended opening hours are expected to translate into higher sales across the board,” said Sana Toukan, research manager for the Middle East at Euromonitor International.

She added that jewelry, clothing, home furniture, and consumer appliances will likely see the largest increases during that period.

“Electronics are another area that is expected to do well during Eid and the extended opening hours, as most consumers shopping for such items usually prefer to seek advice from sales representatives in stores which will most likely be easier when shops are open longer. Thus, people can shop at different times of the day and night rather than having a few hours to do so per day,” she said.

To encourage sales throughout the period, retailers are running late night and early morning promotions.

“Eid time is always related to the shopping season. People have the tendency to hang out at malls,” said Nandakumar, head of corporate corporations at the EMKE Group. “We’d say there’s about 20 to 30 per cent increase in footfall and sales during Eid.”

The positive expectations extend beyond Dubai. “Like everyone else, we are definitely expecting a good growth in sales during Eid. The timing is perfect. People are back from vacations and settled in the routine,” said Anuraag Sinha, managing director of Liali Jewellery in Abu Dhabi. “It’s a very exciting time for us.

Majid Al Futtaim Properties, which its City Center malls, is planning shows and parades during Eid.

“While we cannot predict at this time what the outcome will be, we are optimistic that we will definitely surpass footfall and sales records achieved last year,” said Fuad Sharaf, senior director of asset management for MAF Properties’ shopping malls.

“The ‘Dubai 24 hours Shopping’ initiative is a new scheme, not only to Dubai, but to the whole region…Hence, we have to wait and see what exactly would be the impact of such a step, but overall, we feel that this step has added a lot of excitement and anticipation to the retail sector, and we are sure that it will also add to the festive mood of the city and attract shoppers to the malls driven by the excitement of experiencing shopping in unusual hours,” said Laila Suhail, chief executive of Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment.

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