JEDDAH, 20 June — Summer sales have become an annual event. Shopping at the Jeddah Festival is a major attraction for many visitors as well as local families and sales banners decorate many of Jeddah’s famous shops and mall windows.
Two weeks into the sales season, many shoppers are unhappy with the sales policy of some of the famous brand-name shops. Many claim that the products are old stock, others claim the sales signs are very misleading.
Soaad, a housewife said, “When many shops announce their summer sales, they replace new items with old, unfashionable stock. Most of the discounted items are of very poor quality; sales should involve new products, not unwanted old stuff which, even if it’s cheap, most of the customers will not buy”.
Hana’a is another shopper who noticed that most of the sales people underestimate the intelligence of the customers. She said, “I am surprised by the way most of the sales are held. First, the price is discounted by the cashiers at the till. This can be misleading, because unless you check the receipts at the time, often impractical in crowded sales, you may not notice serious errors. Secondly, the customer often knows that the ‘original’ price of the article is not accurate. It has been changed for the sale and then discounted.”
A sales manager in one of the leading fashion centers in Jeddah spoke to Arab News about the misunderstanding between the clients and shops. He said, “First of all, the customers should pay attention to the sales banners and what they announce. For instance, the discounts can be fixed — like (50 percent off everything) or on a sliding scale (up to 50 percent) which means the discounts vary from 20 percent to 50 percent. This kind of sale may confuse customers, because they do not notice that the sales discount is not fixed “.
Asked about changing of the price tags, the manager said, “That could not happen because of the sales regulations reviewed by officials. Customers should report a mistake like this to the shop managers, because this is a major violation.”
