“The discounts alone are not enough” .. stores competing to attract shoppers with “additional offers”

During the current month of Ramadan, sales outlets resorted to the application of the policy of “discounts alone is not enough”, and turned into competition through offers for added value.

And the Emirates Today monitored additional offers during the recent period, in a way that keeps pace with the price cuts in Ramadan, which included granting buyers additional rewards on loyalty cards, free delivery of purchases, and a 10% cash recovery through the use of specific banking cards, while the outlets of selling gifts that included cars, and trips to perform the life rituals, home appliances, electronics, and phones offered Portable.

At a time when consumers considered that the value -added offers are additional incentives for them, two officials in the retail trade sector of «Emirates Today» attributed the granting of the outlets of consumer additional privileges, and not to rely on the discounts alone, to the high competition during the current holy month of Ramadan at rates that exceed the previous seasons.

In detail, consumer Youssef Hamdan said: “A number of sales outlets have shifted during the recent period to offering additional privileges to consumers in addition to the price cuts, most notably the increase in the reward points on loyalty cards at greater rates than usual, and granting buyers a free delivery upon request through the smart application of the sales outlet,” noting that “these offers are useful incentives, along with the discounts during Shopping in the month of Ramadan and Eid al -Fitr. ”

For his part, consumer Ali Suleiman said: “The recent period witnessed a great activity in the local markets, which is to offer outlets for marketing a marketing policy that (the discounts alone are not enough), by offering offers (added value) that give consumers additional advantages in addition to price discounts, the most prominent of which are withdrawals on electronics, phones, cars, and trips to perform Umrah rituals, or purchasing cards at Buying from the offers offered. ”

Suleiman called on the outlets to expand these offers throughout the year and not limit them to the month of Ramadan.

In the same context, the consumer, Mr. Abdulaziz, saw that a number of stores are remarkably directed to offer additional offers, in addition to the price cuts of positive manifestations in the markets that must be expanded, whether by granting buyers a cash recovery in agreement with banks, increasing the number of reward points on loyalty cards, or even gifts that varied from one store to another.

In addition, the director of purchases at the port of retail trade, Dilip Fishal, told «Emirates Today»: “The current Ramadan season is characterized by high competitiveness compared to all previous seasons, with the growth of consumer demand, and the increase in a number of retail trading outlets in the local markets, which prompted many stores to give consumers additional advantages with discounts most of which last during the month of Ramadan until the end of Eid Al Fitr days.”

He added, “The offered offers are among the positive variables in the retail market, which are in line with the policies of supply and demand, and the competitiveness between the outlets.”

For his part, the director of marketing in one of the retailers chains, Mohamed Mansour, said that “the added value offers offered in addition to the price cuts, allowing the sales outlets to increase opportunities to obtain more marketing shares than sales.” The growth of offers during the current period attributed the high consumer demand, whether during the month of Ramadan or even before the Eid Al -Fitr period, in which many consumers resort to shopping, benefiting from the privileges presented in addition to the price cuts.

Competitive trends

“Many of the sales outlets went to search for new competitive means based on offers for added value, in addition to price cuts, in light of the high competitiveness rates with unprecedented numbers in the retail sector during the recent period, and with the growing of many entities that work in the markets and the entry of new investors to the sector.”

The sea stressed the importance of awareness among consumers by saying: “It is necessary that families have sufficient awareness, by searching for the best offers and the most appropriate discounts when shopping.”