Shopping sprees galore as GITEX Shopper 2012 opens in Dubai

The GITEX Shopper exhibition opened its doors to tech-savvy crowds this week, celebrating all that’s new and improved in the world of gadgets and gizmos.

The popular technology fair, which began on Saturday, acts as a platform for global technology brands with a focus on the Middle Eastern market.

The electronics extravaganza will feature 30,000 gadgets including Tablets, Ultrabooks and Smart TV’s- products which are expected to be hot sellers.

This year’s GITEX Shopper is scheduled to run for eight days and the event will be located in the Dubai’s World Trade Center.

The exhibition will host outlets from an array of participating retailers and brands, including Bose, Fujistsu, Dell and other innovative tech representatives.

The involvement of such big-name players has served to elevate the status of the technology fair which now attracts more than 120 brands and retailers from ten countries, reported Gulf News.

Participating retailers hope to capitalize on sales by taking part in the Middle East’s “highest PR buzz generating trade event,” as described by a statement from GITEX.

One of the region’s largest electronics suppliers, Jacky’s Electronics, which is showcasing at GITEX, is looking forward to “the buzz.”

Jacky’s Chief Operating Officer, Ashish Panjabi, said the event represents “two months’ worth of sales in eight days,” UAE-based 7days Newspaper reported.

Retailers are vying for consumer attention by offering exclusive offers and bundle deals on their product ranges. Organizers have confirmed that over AED 50 million ($13,611,924.19) worth of goods will be up for grabs in the form of freebies, reported the Emirates 24/7 news website.

“This year, we alone are giving AED 7 million worth of freebies,” Vishesh Bhatia, Chief Executive Officer of UAE-based Jumbo Electronics told the site.

“Everything will sell - laptops, Apple phones, cameras - with enough free gifts to satisfy even the most hardened critic,” Bhatia added.

Tech giants who displayed their products last year included IBM, Google and BlackBerry makers Research In Motion.

Set up in 1981, the GITEX technology exhibition specifically caters to Middle Eastern society, targeted due to its large youth population.

With its burgeoning youth demographic “the Middle East presents a unique swathe of Net Generation users, for whom all things digital come as second nature and who therefore embrace technological advances and who are prepared to spend higher than average proportions of their income on media and content consumption” states the GITEX information page.

GITEX Shopper organizers hope to surpass last year’s sales of AED 200 million as buyers return to this ever-popular event.