Several high-end shops here are failing to attract customers despite offering huge discounts for the Eid holidays, Arab News has found.

Some have been offering discounts ranging from 30 to 50 percent on various items including imported suits, leather shoes, jackets, belts, shirts and trousers.

The price cuts are written in big, bold letters at the front of the well-lit shops as if a silent celebration is taking place.

However, salesmen complain that despite the promotions, which started before Eid Al-Adha, not many customers have been interested in making purchases.

During a visit to one of these shops along Makkah Road on Tuesday night, two Saudi customers walked in, one with his wife.

“Look at these customers. They walk around the shop to look at various discounted items and then walk away,” the salesman said.

Asked how much sales the shop had racked up for the day, the salesman shook his head, indicating that they did not have enough customers.

Other shops have stocked cheaper items to attract customers, in addition to their luxury products, but this has barely made a difference.

“Some promise to come back. That's okay but what we need for the day are customers who buy because we have a sales target to meet,” he said.

“What we probably need is advertisements on television or in major daily newspapers regarding our heavily discounted luxury items and cheaper products. But that costs money, which we're trying to generate through our promotions,” he said.

Salespeople at similar shops in the capital also complain about the lack of walk-in customers. A salesman at a shop selling well-known Swiss shoes in Olaya Street was optimistic that business would pick up over the next few days.