Outlet sales rise by up to 40% with the beginning of Ramadan… and the priority is for food commodities

Sales outlets in Dubai and Sharjah witnessed a large demand from consumers at the beginning of the month of Ramadan to purchase supplies for the holy month, especially basic food commodities, which increased sales by rates that reached 40% compared to normal periods.

During a field tour, Emirates Today monitored noticeable crowding in sales outlets the evening of the day before yesterday, in addition to varying rates of demand for Ramadan offers offered in various outlets and cooperatives. Demand focused mainly on basic food commodities such as rice, flour, oils, dairy products and cheeses, red meat and poultry, vegetables and fruits, in addition to sugar, tea, pasta, dates and nuts.

Some outlets witnessed crowding at cash registers and full parking lots, reflecting the large demand from families and consumers.

Consumers told Emirates Today that purchasing Ramadan supplies represents an enjoyable traditional ritual for them, as they prefer to do their shopping on the eve of the beginning of the holy month with the family, and then complete the rest of the needs during the first days of the month. They called for increasing the number of accounting boxes during busy periods, and ensuring that there is sufficient stock of goods included in the offers, while continuing discount campaigns that meet the needs of consumers until the end of the month.

For their part, sales outlet officials confirmed that they were prepared to face the increase in consumer demand during Ramadan, by providing sufficient stock of goods, especially Ramadan offers, and increasing the number of employees during the first days of the month of fasting, to ensure the speedy supply of shelves with goods and reduce crowding at cash registers, noting that sales increased during the night of Ramadan and the first day by a rate ranging between 20 and 40% compared to normal periods.

Long queues

In detail, the consumer, Muhammad Abdel Aziz, said that many sales outlets offered expanded offers that included discounts ranging between 15 and 70% on the occasion of the Ramadan season, contributed to increasing demand, which led to long queues at cash registers and increased waiting times inside the markets, especially on the night of the first day of Ramadan, pointing out that the increase in the number of goods purchased in Ramadan prevents consumers from benefiting from the boxes allocated for goods whose number is less than 10 in some sales outlets, which were It is also crowded.

Consumer Adel Eid stated that he prefers to take his family to buy Ramadan supplies despite the large crowding in the outlets, on the night and the beginning of Ramadan, considering that shopping with family members during Ramadan is an enjoyable traditional ritual and a manifestation of joy and celebration of the holy month. He called for the need for sales outlets to provide sufficient stock of offer items and to continue discount campaigns until the end of the month of Ramadan.

The consumer, Medhat Naji, agreed that shopping during the night of the first day of Ramadan provides a way to celebrate the joy of the holy month, especially since the offers increase significantly in most sales outlets with the beginning of Ramadan, which makes it possible to compare and choose the most appropriate one. He called for increasing the number of cash registers during periods of increased demand in the outlets to avoid consumers standing for long periods of time to check, with the necessity of providing a sufficient stock of offer items, especially the most in demand, to avoid running out of them with increased demand.

For her part, consumer Hasna Abdel Rahman reported that the discounts offered on the occasion of the month of Ramadan varied to include basic food commodities, such as rice, flour, sugar products, and cooking oils, in addition to dairy products and preserved foods, such as canned beans and chickpeas, while providing discounts on kitchen supplies of single-use utensils, plates, and cups, which allows an abundance and diversity of offers for the benefit of consumers.

Sufficient stock

For his part, Nanda Kumar, Director of the Corporate Communications Department at the Lulu Malls Group, said that the group prepared to increase the demand of consuming families during the beginning of the month of Ramadan by providing large quantities of inventory of the offered goods to ensure the availability of the goods included in the offers throughout the month, while offering discounts offers early, and diversifying among the discounts offered throughout the month, pointing out that the month of Ramadan is one of the periods that witness high consumer demand and an increase in sales.

In the same context, the CEO of Union Coop, Mohammed Al Hashemi, confirmed that the cooperative provided sufficient stock for all basic commodities and offers, while enhancing the number of employees during the days of Ramadan to help consumers, noting that the discounts reached 60% on more than 3,000 products, including basic commodities such as rice, oils, flour, sugar, poultry, eggs, dates, and fresh and frozen products, in addition to fixing the prices of more than 160 commodities to ensure Price stability throughout the month.

Sales growth

The sales official at one of the retail outlets, Muhammad Bashir, said that the sales outlets witnessed a large demand on the night of Ramadan, with varying purchases during the first day and some people preferring to buy during the afternoon of the first day. To avoid crowding on the eve of Ramadan.

He added that the beginning of Ramadan witnessed a growth in sales estimated at about 40% compared to the periods that preceded Ramadan, pointing out the increase in the number of employees during the night of Ramadan or on the first day of the month to keep pace with the large demand from consumers.

In turn, Dilip Vishal, director of purchasing at one of the retail chains, confirmed that the sales outlets witnessed great demand during the night of Ramadan and during the first day, as consumers tended to buy during those periods and did not prepare early, which increased demand in a number of outlets and increased the queues in front of the cash registers, indicating that the outlets benefited from self-payment points.

He reported that sales increased at the beginning of the month of Ramadan at rates ranging between 20 and 30%, with great demand from consumers compared to normal periods, or even to the similar period last Ramadan.

. Outlets face increased demand by providing sufficient stock of goods…and additional employees.