DSF: Time for change?
Year in, year out the DSF has pretty much stayed the same. Is it time for a fresh start? wonders Eva Fernandes.
January 31, 2011 5:17 by Eva Fernandes
Upon the success of Dubai’s Shopping Festival, the city launched a ‘Dubai Summer Surprise’ (the DSF dressed up in a summer outfit and promoted by the most annoying mascot in the world) and shortly after ‘Eid in Dubai.’ So all of a sudden, those wonderful bargains, street (mall during the DSS) performers, and the fireworks weren’t something we looked forward to happening once a year; instead they were pretty much all year round.
There was a time when people would put off buying all major purchases until the DSF; ‘We’ll get a better deal’ then was the hope that is rarely heard now a days. Which is why I am not too surprised at the results of our latest survey. We asked ‘will you be hitting the shops during the Dubai Shopping Festival?’, and only half of our respondents replied in the affirmative: the rest were split between ‘No, it is a con,’ ‘yes, but only because I have to,” and “No, I’ll be too busy”, while a chunky 26 percent sat on the fence saying “maybe if the price is right.” That’s probably a no then, thinks Kipp.
The results are in but the question remains: is it time for Dubai to reconsider its annual celebration of consumerism? I think it is indisputable that the festival has lost its momentum and the magic and hype that once surrounded it. Though suggesting we discard the sixteen year old tradition may be sacrilege (especially in a country no older than 40 years), I think the time might just be ripe for change.
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3 Comments
Personally think, having experienced each and every DSF that it is time for a radical change or drop it all together – let’s be honest, Dubai is currently the world’s biggest outlet mall – whatever time of the year – even HSBC is on sale.
Ah I miss the days of the first DSF, when “sales” meant companies ratcheted up their prices days before DSF kicked off, and the “sale” was a return to the regular price.
Back in the day, the shopping festival actually meant great deals and slashed prices on almost everything. This year it seemed to just be the winter sales tarted up. How that’s a festival I struggle to understand.