It’s the season of deals and steals at the Gitex Shopper as retailers offer cars, 20,000 airline tickets, giveaways and bundle offers to a ‘bullish’ market for consumer electronics, ahead of the Eid Al Adha and the Diwali season.

Neelesh Bhatnagar of Emax Electronics said: “We are expecting up to a 30 per cent sales growth at the Gitex Shopper this year, with smartphones and traditional laptops fueling the buying spree.”

Jumbo Electronics CEO, Vishesh Bhatia, was in agreement, adding: “The market is very bullish right now. And the smartphones segment, which has been the main driver of sales over the past few exhibitions, have also become more competitive with the Chinese brand of smartphones that are providing customers with a more cost effective alternative to purchasing their second or third phone.”

Price drop and bundles

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus launch has resulted in a drop in prices across the older Apple models, said retailers, with Plug Ins’ Omar Abushaban, Head of Operations, saying: “Earlier the iPhone 5s was retailing for Dh2,747 when it launched last year. At the April Gitex, it dropped to Dh2,199.

“And now since the launch of the iPhone 6, some retailers are offering it for Dh1,800.”

Abushaban further added: “Historically, bundle offers have been the calling for retailers at the Shopper. And this year, the trend will continue.

“The only difference is in the buyer profile, with the consumer now demanding a better quality of bundles with branded products as freebies.”

Bhatnagar added: “We were one of the first few retailers to have raised the concern over some of the useless bundles that were being offered at the Shopper a few years ago.

Today, the bundle profile has changed considerably, with pairings now include branded products that include Samsung and Apple. Or in our case, even 20,000 free air tickets made available for shoppers across 25 destinations, bundled with some of the products.”

Drive home in a new car

Shopper Aziz Malik, who said was in the market for a new TV, stated: “The deals are absolutely crazy this year. It seems everyone is offering cars to drive home in. Let’s hope the value of the products is retained.”

Sharaf DG is one of the retailers offering 150 free BMW 316i cars with every purchase of an LG 55-inch OLED TV for Dh99,990.The actual cost of the TV is Dh19,990 and the car is being retailed by BMW at Dh130,000.

Plug Ins is offering a chance to win a Dodge Charger on the purchase of goods worth Dh500 or more and a guaranteed gift with every purchase of Dh1,000 and more by beating a gong and winning on the decibel metre.

Jacky’s Electronics’ AVP, Mahesh Chotrani said: “We are offering shoppers of smartphones, laptops or UHD TVs to participate in our raffle to win one of two Mini Coopers. The draw will be held during the last hour of the last day.”

And it is not just electronic retailers who are offering bundles and deals.

During the shopper, Lulu has announced a tech fest with millions worth of free gifts and a chance to win 24 Mitsubishi Pajeros as part of a raffle. You get a coupon for every Dh100 you spend as part of Lulu Digital Expo 2014.