Dubai: Smartphones and tablets top buyers’ shopping list at Gitex shopper 2014, followed by laptops and cameras. The brands that attracted the majority of consumers were Apple and Samsung, but some viewed products by other brands, such as Lenovo and Blackberry.
The majority of consumers at the electronics retail show said that price was what motivated them to buy, while some considered bundle deals.
“The prices are lower here. I bought a Toshiba laptop here for around Dh1,900, but [in shopping malls] it costs around Dh2,100,” said Suzette Pagayanah, a Dubai resident.
Gitex Shopper, which opened on Saturday, will run until October 4 at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The consumer electronics exhibition has attracted more than 100 consumer IT and electronics brands, displaying over 30,000 products.
Visitors looked at big promotions from global brands, such as Dell, Lenovo, Samsung and Blackberry, and retail giants including Jacky’s, Jumbo Electronics, Sharaf DG and Emax.
One consumer, Saeed Al Qaedi, on the other hand, said that prices may be low at the exhibition, but the quality of the bundle deals is bad.
“[The retailers] are not giving a real offer. Nothing is new here,” he said.
Some consumers also said that prices of products were not considerably lower at the event compared to retail stores.
“Prices are not that low,” said Dustin Francia, a Dubai resident. He bought a tablet which came with a hard drive as part of a bundle deal.
Similarly, Hadeel Majed, a tourist from Doha, Qatar, said that prices of consumer electronics at Gitex were not very different from that in Doha.
“I came from Doha thinking that prices are lower here but they are not,” she said.
There were mixed views on bundle deals at the event.
“There are so many offers here. I am comparing them now and then decide to buy,” said Sandhya Pukhrambam, an Indian national.
Retailers are expected to change their bundle deals in the next two days to attract more customers as consumer traffic at the event is likely to increase by then.
There were a range of deals at the event in the last two days. For instance, a 55-inch 4K Hisense Smart TV and a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro MD101AE/A are priced Dh5,999 at Sharaf DG. The TV is worth Dh5,999, while the Apple MacBook is valued at Dh4,399.
Also, at Jacky’s, customers can get an LG 55UB830 UHD 3D smart TV, a Dh1,000 gift voucher, a Eurostar tablet, a Sony headset and cleaning kit for Dh6,999.
