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Dubai/Fujairah/Abu Dhabi: "Shop until you drop" is the motto which residents seem to live by. With so many lucrative sales on the offer all year round, the temptation to shop cannot be avoided.
Irrespective of inflation or the cost of living, there is a market for everyone.
The shopping season has been in full swing this December with the celebrations of Eid, Christmas and New Year, which will reach its peak at the Dubai Shopping Festival that will start on January 24, followed then by the Summer Surprises.
Shoppers are always on the prowl to find the best bargain for their money and scanned the shopping centres to find the perfect gift.
Do residents ever get tired from shopping, or are they constantly eager to find the best bargains in the town?
City Talk took to the streets and the majority of residents agreed that they will continue to shop as long as they have good bargains.
Dileep Devan, 33, sales engineer from India, said that he is always willing to find an item at a good deal.
"Because everything is more expensive now, people are looking for bargains.
"It's possible to find some good value-for-money buys after big seasons. I will try to shop around more this month, and may be go to Dubai and the Global Village to see if there are some electronic products worth buying," he said.
Jocelyn L Romano, Filipino, 29, technical support personnel, said that she is looking forward to visiting the Global Village because it offers products at good value for money.
"It does not matter that I live in Abu Dhabi because the Global Village is open for a few months and plan to make a trip to Dubai and visit it as per convenience."
Helmi Al Minshawi, a real estate agent from Egypt, said that shops give good discounts after the Eid holidays so although people have already spent some money before Eid, they can't turn away from a good bargain.
"I'll be looking to buy some presents and clothes from here in Fujairah and from Dubai. I hope to make a trip to the Global Village to see if we can find reasonably priced electronic products as well."
Jamal Mohammad Hasan, 28, Egyptian photocopy assistant, said: "I have already bought some clothes after the Eid at a discounted price and I think if you're a bachelor you have to save some money and choose the right time to buy."
He said even though he has never been to the Global Village, he plans to visit it this year and pick up something nice, "but only if the price is right".
Padma Renjith, 42, director of a travel agency from India, said she has grown tired of the shopping bargains and is not looking planning to make any purchases soon.
"The sales at shops used to be better with a wide range of clothing and other products. Now, most of the products on sale are of very low quality."
Winnie Garcia, a 32 year-old production support assistant from the Philippines, said that she is still eager to purchase new clothes.
"I have never been to the Global Village so I'm planning to go this time around, as well as visit the different pavilions."
Sanjiv Kala, 30, business student from the United States, said he is staying in Dubai for two months and is eager to join the bandwagon of shoppers.
"The priority on my list is to visit the Global Village because I heard so much about it from my friends and that there are various kinds of things to buy, most probably the different kinds of food from the pavilions."
Sham Abdul Majiz, 25, an Indian salesman, said: "I want to visit many outlets during the Shopping Festival so that I can buy things for my wife who lives back home in India."
Moroccan licence officer Adil Al Hajji, 27, said he was not interested in shopping at all.
"There are too many promotions going on at the moment, and I am sure that I will not visit the Global Village because I heard from friends that it is very difficult to find parking over there."
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