Can consumer boycott depress prices?

The majority of Emiratis and other Arabs residing in the country support boycotting costly consumer products as a means to force dealers to cut prices. But most of non-Arab expatriates are against that idea.

A survey conducted by a local newspaper found that 61 per cent of Emiratis and 63.7 per cent of Arab expatriates support the boycott idea while only 25.8 per cent of non-Arab residents are opposed to the boycott.

Emirat Alyoum said the survey was conducted by Ipsos, a global research firm, last month and it covered 6,673 Emiratis and foreigners.

“The survey was conducted for Emirat Alyoum……its results showed that Emiratis and Arab expatriates are strong supporters of the boycott idea as an effective means to pressure dealers to cut consumer prices,” it said.

The survey showed 54.6 per cent of the respondents do no know who is behind the increase in prices while 21.1 per cent blame wholesale dealers and 24.3 per cent believe retail traders are responsible for high prices.

The poll also showed nearly 55 per cent of those surveyed have not heard about the UAE’s Consumers Protection Association.

“Most of those who are not aware of its existence are non-Arab foreigners as nearly 75.1 per cent of them said they have not heard about it….around 58.7 per cent of Emiratis and 70.1 per cent said they know it.”

In response to a question on whether they trust the efforts exerted by the ministry of economy to control consumer prices, 34.8 per cent of them said “yes” while 18 per cent said “no” and 47.2 per cent said “they don’t know.”

In response to another question on whether they stack consumer items in anticipation of prices increases, 85.5 per cent of Emiratis said “no” while 89.7 per cent of Arabs and 71.1 per cent of non-Arab foreigners said “no.”