After getting a fillip from the month-long Qatar Summer Festival (QSF), many retailers and boutiques at different malls in Qatar expect their sales to further improve before and after the Eid al-Adha holidays.
The annual QSF, organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), featured a number of offerings such as the shopping promotions aimed at energising the hospitality and retail sectors, driving domestic tourism and attracting regional visitors year-round.
“We received an increasing number of shoppers at the start of this month and we hope to attract more before they leave for the Eid holidays with our promos,” said an employee of a female apparel boutique at a mall in Doha.
She noted that QTA’s weekly raffle draws during the festival had significantly helped in enticing more people to spend at least a minimum of QR200. This amount gives them one raffle coupon with a chance to win cash or a Jaguar car.
The employee believes the launch of the shopping promotions was timely since many retailers get only a few customers after the Eid al-Fitr holidays, considered an off-peak period.
Many retailers, shops and boutiques normally launch their promotions during the summer, coinciding with such festivals as part of their strategy to encourage
people to buy, she explained.
She added that the influx of visitors from Saudi Arabia from August 1 onwards is also giving a boost to their sales.
“Many people from Saudi shop here in Doha and they spend in bulk whether we have promotions, reduced prices or none at all,” she said.
However, she disclosed that their shop recorded an estimated 45% drop in sales this summer compared with last year’s figure for the same period.
This was also echoed by a boutique employee at another mall citing a substantial drop in sales of both men’s and women’s clothes.
“We are trying to woo customers with our promotions, special offers and reduced prices for us to hit our targets this month,” he said.
He expressed optimism that business will improve with the opening of schools and the return of vacationing residents after the Eid al-Adha holidays.
The employee also expects their sales to increase once the winter season sets in and with the arrival of more tourists from cruise ships.
QTA earlier announced that they expect more than 50,000 tourists aboard 32 cruise ships to arrive in the country for the 2016-2017 cruise season, which starts in October and ends in April next year.
Apparel boutiques in Doha expect to receive more shoppers in the coming days.
