Massive discounts on offer for UAE residents

Customers in the UAE have saved millions of dirhams each year thanks to online shopping bonanzas.

A bevy of mega online shopping sales events will colour the UAE retail scene beginning Friday, with retailers ready to offer massive discounts on a wide range of products to UAE residents.
Among the most popular online shopping festivals in the UAE are Amazon.ae's White Friday - known as Black Friday in the West - along with Noon.com's Yellow Friday Sale. In addition to discounts as high as 80 per cent, e-retailers will be offering additional benefits on purchases made through credit cards such as cashbacks and easy-payment plans.

Maya El Ayach, senior vice-president of growth and digital strategy at Noon.com, said its Yellow Friday Sale - its 'craziest' of the year - will go live from November 24 to 30. Customers will be given up to 80 per cent discounts on mobiles, electronics, home, beauty, fragrances, fashion and much more.
"Customers will be able to shop for brand new deals every four hours and enjoy exciting limited-time offers during the flash sales happening at 6:00pm every day throughout that week," El Ayach said.
The White Friday sale at Amazon.ae, previously known as Souq.com, will run from November 23 to 29. Prime members will get 12-hour early access to select deals, free next-day local delivery and free delivery on Prime eligible products from Amazon US.
Offering discounts of up to 70 per cent on a wide array of items, Amazon.ae's sale will be open from 12:01am on Saturday, November 23, until 11:59pm on Friday, November 29. Prime members will enjoy early 12 hours of exclusive early access starting at 11:00am on Friday.
"White Friday has been a huge hit amongst customers since we launched it in 2014 as customers have saved millions of dirhams each year during the event. This year, we are working with the world's top brands, as well as small and medium sized businesses across the UAE, to bring customers the best ever White Friday Sale, with bigger deals on a wider selection than ever before," said Ronaldo Mouchawar, vice-president of Amazon Mena.
The global digital retailer has also tied up with local banks to offer additional benefits to customers in UAE.
The UAE's Ministry of Economy has urged all customers to buy products only from licenced e-commerce websites during the sales.
A survey by Simon-Kucher has revealed that willingness to buy during White Friday was lower in the UAE than other countries, which can be attributed to less awareness among consumers and the nascent nature of the e-commerce sector.
Only 45 per cent of respondents showed an interest in buying during White Friday, compared to 79 per cent in Turkey or 78 per cent in the US in their equivalent events. Only in Japan and Latin America was willingness to buy during this period lower than that of the UAE.
The survey results showed that only 36 per cent are aware of White Friday compared to 100 per cent in Denmark, Germany, Spain and other Western countries.  The study found that it is a common practice for retailers to offer larger discounts than those expected by consumers in promotional events such as White Friday.
Rather than having a positive impact on sales, this erodes margins and results in avoidable revenue losses. In the UAE, 53 per cent of respondents expect discount levels to be between 25 per cent and 50 per cent on the original price, with only 30 per cent of respondents expecting a discount above 50 per cent.
The season is not limited to retail. Travel and hotel booking site Wego will also run discounts from November 24 to 30 for UAE and GCC residents.
"Until November 30, GCC users can get up to 60 per cent on hotel bookings. Wego took part in the White Friday sale in 2018 and has since been bringing exciting deals in its seven-day sale," it said.
Retail giants are also more than happy to offer discounts to UAE consumers. Sharaf DG will be having DG Friday, offering discounts up to 70 per cent on over 30,000 products. It starts at 12:00am of November 23 and will run until November 30, and offers will be available both online and in-store. The company guarantees lowest prices, buy-now-pay-later plans and free delivery for its DG Members initiative.
Jumbo also announced its own sales event called Jumbo Big Savers, which will start tomorrow. It promises " great products, exclusive gifts, big savings and free gifts", according to an Instagram post.
Among other websites, Awok.com is already running its Red Friday sales. AliExpress.com will be running its Black Friday sale, offering up to 60 per cent off on its products.
Customers will enjoy massive savings on popular brands in the duration of the sales event - including giants such as Kindle, Apple, Samsung, Bose, Fitbit, HP, LG, Microsoft and Sony, across all sectors.
Among other websites, Groupon.ae will also be offering sales on Black Friday while Namshi will be mark Black November. Jawabsale will also offer 70 per cent off during White Friday.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com