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This Eid, be wary of discounts and promotions Afkar Abdullah / 15 October 2013 Consumers are up in arms over companies’ fake discounts and promotions, especially during holidays.  UAE residents have become dubious of companies’ supposed attractive promotional deals, especially during popular holidays like Eid, with many saying it is just a ploy to lure customers in before ripping them off. Signs announcing discounts between 20 and 80 per cent, raffle draws, coupons, and buy one get one free promotions are often see adorning shop windows and shelves nowadays — even more so during celebratory festivals. But many are complaining the offers aren’t quite the bargain they think they are getting, with shops hiking prices prior to advertising the discount. And even loyalty reward schemes are sucking the consumers in before draining them of every last fil, with stores ensuring customers are regularly shopping at the outlets before exploiting them by hiking the prices of products. One popular promotion benefitting the retailer rather than the consumer is the distribution of coupons at the checkout if the customer spends a certain amount of cash, and many stores are now handing out scratch cards to market the goods on sale — with many asking whether this is a genuine sales tool which is being supervised by the authorities. Consumers have their say When Khaleej Times spoke to consumers across the emirates, it found most people believed the promotions were not genuine, and many are calling for the authorities to curb them, claiming that traders use the promotions as a means to attract customers before making extra profits. Sharjah resident Pourya Pejman, said he noticed some commercial outlets would keep the signs up all-year-round, proving it was just a pulling ploy to lure consumers in. “I live near a shoe outlet in Al Qasimia behind Amiri court. Since the shop opened, there has been an 80 per cent discount sign on permanent show, and only last week, with Eid Al Adha approaching, they added a buy two get one free sign,” he said. Fellow Sharjah resident Pejman Rahimi, said it was important for shops to organise promotional campaigns to attract visitors to the country, but urged the authorities to ensure these activities are conducted genuinely. “Once I was asked by the cashier at one of the outlets to spend Dh500 for a chance to win electric equipment, such as a blender. When I received the scratch card, it said I had won a tea cup. I decided to wait and see who would win the electric equipment. I waited for more than one hour and everyone that came in won only the cup. It would not even have cost Dh5,” Rahimi said. Aisha Al Shamsi from Ajman said optician shops in Ajman never change their promotional ads, with most announcing discounts between 70 to 80 per cent or buy one get one free offers. “I don’t think the authority inspects them, or is even aware of the activities, otherwise they wouldn’t keep the promotional ads up forever,” she said. Al Shamsi also said the authority should check the quality, price and expiry date on all promotional items to prevent people falling victim to the companies’ underhand tactics. She added the permission number and the name of the authority that issued the permission to a company, shop, or an agent to promote the deal should be made in print on all types of promotional campaign announcements in the audio, visual and print media to ensure the authenticity of the campaign. Bahar D., a resident of Sharjah, said he never enters raffle draws as he believes the companies select the winners beforehand and UAE national Lubna Salah Arsad from Ajman said she does not trust the promotional campaigns at all. She said she never buys any tickets for the sake of participating in raffles, but if a ticket is given to her for her purchase, she fills it in. “Once my best friend, who usually shops for the purpose of participating in raffle draws, won some Chinese-made sunglasses of low quality that broke before leaving the outlet,” she said, and despite the prize being of nominal value, her friend had to visit the outlet several times before retrieving the gift. Lina Khalid, a journalist who has been in the country for the past 15 years, has doubts about some promotional campaigns. She witnesses a lot of promotional campaigns, but has rarely been given the opportunity to find out who the winners were. “A car had been on display for a month in front of one of the outlets. All of a sudden, it disappeared without a prize presentation ceremony. There was no announcement of the winner either,” she said. Assam Harris Sajjad said he’s never been successful in any of the raffles he’s entered and has never found out who actually won the main prize. Not trusting the authenticity of promotions conducted by supermarkets, and small shops in particular, he called on the authorities to have their representatives attend each and every raffle draw to ensure they were genuine. He believes that the authorities should also supervise the presentation of prizes to the winners. Sulfa Khalifa recently won a Dh100 voucher from a big store. She was asked to choose from a collection of different items, which she claimed cost less than the voucher value. “The items such as cups, sunglasses, belts were not of good quality. I should have been given the opportunity to choose from any of the stores’ other items and if the price was higher than the voucher’s value, I would have added from my pocket,” she said. “Although I felt I was cheated and deceived by the shop, I did not complain as I thought  the relevant authority had approved the promotion.” Many residents Khaleej Times spoke to said not all promotions are fake however, as the outlets that announce promotions twice of three times a year are genuine, adding that big companies, specially those of international status, usually promote genuine offers. What the shop owners say Shop owners who were interviewed said not all shops and outlets announce fake promotions, as many offer discounts on old or unsold goods, with low prices to get rid of the goods. This was with permission from the municipality they said. Ahmed Al Yamani, the owner of a textile shop in Sharjah said he only announces promotions for his products during the Sharjah Ramadan Festival. The promotion is very reasonable for him and the customers, with discount offers between 25 to 40 per cent. He said by being genuine in his work, he has gained the trust of loyal customers. Keeping a close eye on promotions Director-General of the Ajman Municipality Yahiya Al Rayaysa, told Khaleej Times a team of supervisors are currently following up on such consumer complaints about bogus promotional deals and he said the municipality will ensure these activities are being conducted in a fair manner. “The municipality in its inspection ensures all promotions such as raffles are fair and genuine”, he said, warning that retailers and hypermarkets announcing discounts without obtaining permission from the municipality will be penalised. The municipality recently issued fines to many food outlets found offering promotions on items nearing their expiration date — a violation of the health and safety standards in the emirate. He said the inspectors of the licence section, in coordination with the health section of the municipality will be keeping a strict vigil on malpractices by carrying out regular surprise visits throughout the year to ensure that these outlets are not cheating custumers to make profit. A top official at Sharjah Department of Economic Development (SDED) said any commercial company, outlet or shop that intends to organise a raffle promotion, or discounts has to apply for permission before launching. “The SDED gives its permission to conduct promotions of different types only after they meet the requirements and conditions that ensure the promotions or raffles are genuine and the prizes are genuine.” Here in Sharjah, all raffles, including those organised by the government department, have SDED inspectors present on site to ensure that the draw is being conducted properly and the prizes are given to the actual winners. The inspectors also drive around to ensure that all shops announcing discounts have obtained the correct permission from the bodies concerned. “The inspectors, however, keep a close eye and investigate the prices of the items before, during and even after the sales campaign,” he added. – afkarali@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading →