UAE: Feeling cheated by Ramadan discounts? Official clarifies how offers are rolled out

With the advent of the holy month of Ramadan, retailers in the UAE have announced up to 75 per cent discounts on thousands of products.

But there is a perception among UAE shoppers that retailers reduce the price of two items, but, at the same time, raise the price of another item at a much higher percentage, hence nullifying the benefit to consumers in terms of discounts.

A senior official of the Ministry of Economy assures that the ministry keeps a watch on such malpractices to ensure consumer rights.

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“First of all, these discounts are always under careful review, even prior to the launch and during the launch. So, that is one aspect that we look into after collaborating with local authorities (in each emirate) as well. We are monitoring (to ensure) there is no breach or misuse of these announcements and false credit in these campaigns as they are not tangible for the customer. I can fully understand that but I can tell you that we are paying attention to these kinds of practices,” Abdullah Sultan Al Fan Al Shamsi, assistant undersecretary for the monitoring and follow-up sector at the Ministry of Economy, told Khaleej Times in an interview.

Led by government-backed cooperative societies, major retailers such as Carrefour, Lulu Group, Al Maya Supermarkets, Geant, and Aswaq, as well as e-commerce platforms have announced between 25 per cent to 75 per cent discounts on various products during Ramadan, which started on March 11 in the UAE.

“Before launching these campaigns, we normally review these offerings and pass these messages to retailers and they also consider feedback from regulating bodies or customers. Secondly, if there is any breach, violation or suspicious practices that are discovered by the consumers, they should contact us immediately to give us the chance to look out for these kind of practices. That’s why we say that awareness is fully important for all consumers to know exactly what is their right,” Al Shamsi said.

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