Shoppers in Deira City Centre during the three-day Super Sale. Shops across Dubai saw an unprecedented rush on Friday as bargain hunters swarmed malls to get the best buys.
Dubai - There were long queues to take a taxi and Metro carriages were also full of shoppers on Friday
Published: Sun 21 May 2017, 10:31 PM
There was a shopping frenzy in major malls across Dubai over the weekend with the citywide three-day Super Sale, which started on Thursday and will run until today.
Weekend mall footfall was expectedly higher than usual as shopaholics, bargain hunters, trendsetters, tourists, expats who are going home for summer holidays and even small-time traders all trooped to various malls to get the best buys. Much anticipation has been created around this mega sale, especially after the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) announced that this is only one of the two weekends in a year when shops are allowed to cut prices heavily.
Mall parking areas were reportedly full as early as Friday mid-morning and the Dubai Police tweeted traffic jams around the Financial Centre area and roads leading to The Dubai Mall, The Mall of the Emirates, and Mirdiff City Centre.
There were long queues to take a taxi and Metro carriages were also full of shoppers. But nothing could stop the shoppers to get the best buy.
Shoppers told Khaleej Times that they have been looking forward to this weekend, where more than a thousand outlets are offering huge discounts ranging from 30-90 per cent. Some have made cash savings to enjoy shopping worry-free while others used their ever-reliable credit cards for purchase and sales persons reported brisk sales, particularly for summer items.
Scenes from The Dubai Mall on the last day of the sale
Pakistani expat Seem Shakeel is one of those shoppers who lined up to the mall on the first day of the sale.
"I love shopping during sales! We've planned our purchase of electronic items and furniture to coincide with the sale period and we got such huge savings. There are so many bargain deals this season," she told Khaleej Times.
Filipino expat Arnold Medina, who is going home for his annual leave next week, said he was able to buy lots of presents for his kids.
"I got shirts, pants and some gadgets too.
"But since my salary has not yet come, I had to use my credit card. No, it's not impulsive buying," he added.
"I just can't let pass of the big discounts but I will be mindful to pay my credit card bill immediately." But shoppers are not the only ones happy with the Super Sale.
Rishelyn Espinocilla, who works as a sales person at Centrepoint at The Mall of the Emirates, said she and her colleagues are looking forward to some in-centives since they are sure to hit their target sales this month.
"There were long lines at the tills on Thursday night and it was even crazier on Friday," Espinocilla said.
Aimee Salazar, a sales representative at a luxury brand for kids, added: "Shoppers really had a good time bargain hunting. Imagine the cheapest item we have on a regular day is Dh500 - most expensive is Dh8,000 - so people really got huge discounts.
She added that many of their shoppers come from neighbouring GCC countries and there are also few from African countries.
"Some of them are traders who buy luxury items here in Dubai at a low price and resell them at the higher price back home," Salazar noted.
According to an earlier statement from the DFRE, "the Super Sale will help increase Dubai's position as a year-round shopping destination."
angel@khaleejtimes.com
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