Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Thursday in the United States. This is when people begin their Christmas shopping, stores offer massive bargains and the whole frenzy causes stores to go “in the black” or become profitable. Black Friday is also rumored to be the busiest shopping day of the year in the US in recent years.
Of late, the Black Friday tradition has caught on big time in the UAE with retailers enthusiastically embracing the American custom. They, however, name the sale Friday, prefixed with their color of choice. And sometimes even link it to their brand color – white, yellow, red or pink. Others come up with innovative tags like Mega Friday, Beauty Friday and Fri-yay Sale.
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What makes Friday sales special?
Right before the end of the year, retailers look to boost their revenue. Customers too look forward to the retail binge and some early holiday shopping. Love it or hate it, there is no denying the craze of the sale. So if your inbox is full of emails from retailers trying to one up each other’s offer, and you’re seeing Friday sales painted all over town, get used to the annual tradition!
Since the Friday mega-sales come around only once a year and guarantee some genuine bargains, you need to be as prepared as possible. Essentially, knowing exactly what you want to buy. When it comes to in-store shopping, you not only have to brave the crowds, you want to be able to spot the best deals in different stores. Online bargain hunting can be a bit tricky too since sizes and stocks run out fast.
How long do they run for?
What used to be a one day shopping bonanza now lasts anywhere from a weekend to the end of the month. It sometimes even continues up to Cyber Monday – an online only sales event and yet another big shopping tradition.
Black Friday officially falls on November 29th this year. However, many retailers started releasing deals last Friday in an attempt to stay ahead of the competition.
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What to expect?
You can expect retail giants in the UAE to cut prices on a large selection of big-budget and small-ticket items. Think electronics, premium clothing and accessories, kitchen appliances, home décor, furnishings, sports equipment, beauty sets and much more.
Dedicated online retailers like Amazon, Noon, Ounass, The Luxury Closet, Sprii, Shein, 6thstreet, Namshi, Mumzworld, Cleartrip and even Booking.com have some version of the sale either already running or scheduled to start this Friday. They promise everything from discounts of up to 70 or 80 percent to cashback and gifts as well as prizes to be won on shopping.
Brick and mortar retailers have gone all-in this time too. You can find Friday sale offers at big and small brands across 2,000 retail outlets in Dubai alone, in addition to their e-commerce platforms. Eros, Jumbo Electronics and Sharaf DG are offering mobile phones and gaming consoles at a major discount. You can also avail some exciting offers like the ‘buy-now-pay-later’ option at zero interest. Other big names participating in the promotions include Gap, Centrepoint, Carrefour, Pottery Barn, H&M, Sephora and Mothercare.
Another offer you simply can’t afford to miss, is the one we’re running right here. Buy your car insurance policy from Souqalmal.com until November 30th and stand a chance to win AED 5,000 in cash! The lucky draw winner will be announced on December 5th. Lucky or not, you also get to take home guaranteed discount vouchers worth AED 3,000 with your car insurance purchase.
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