By Ghulam Haider
Hypermarkets and supermarkets in the UAE are offering significant discounts for Ramadan, which is expected to begin on March 23 according to astronomical calculations. During the holy month, shoppers can take advantage of discounts of up to 75% on over 10,000 food and non-food items.
The price reductions announced by several retailers will have a favorable economic impact on consumers while also ensuring that they can fully embrace the spirit of the month.
Here is the list of hypermarkets and supermarkets offering deals on Ramadan;
Talabat: The grocery service provider offers daily deals and discounts from Talabat Mart of up to 75% on daily essentials. The offer includes over 150 products for a week from Wednesday, March 15, to March 21.
LuLu Hypermarkets: The retailer announced the launch of a massive Ramadan campaign across their 97 hypermarkets in the UAE. A wide range of special deals and promotions will be offered to shoppers both online and offline.
Shoppers can benefit from up to 60 per cent off on selected products across different categories, including groceries, food products, fresh produce, home appliances, electronics, and furnishings.
Lulu has also announced a ‘price lock’ initiative, specifically for the Ramadan shopping season. As part of the initiative, more than 200 products have been selected to be sold at the same price, irrespective of market conditions, throughout Ramadan, which will help shoppers save money.
Union Coop: Shoppers can buy over 10,000 basic food and nonfood products during the holy month as the Dubai-based retailer launched it’s Ramadan campaign offering discounts of up to 75 per cent on essential products.
These offers and discounts will be launched in all branches and on its online store and smart app periodically during the Ramadan campaign. All commodities, including food and beverages, electronics and household appliances are included to meet the increasing demand throughout the month of Ramadan.
Carrefour: Majid Al Futtaim-owned retail giant Carrefour launched discounts of up to 50 per cent on more than 6,000 products and will also boost stock availability by 15 per cent to meet the increased demand throughout the fasting month.
The campaign extends over six weeks and will see discounts on bulk buys, exclusive offers from international brands, and discounts on its own private label. This extensive range of locally developed items averages 27 per cent more value when compared to leading brands of the same high quality, the retailer said.
Al Adil Trading: The retailer also offer a good discounts to shoppers as part of the company’s initiative to support the community during the holy month.
“Our promotions and discounts run for 45 days, starting 15 days prior to the start of Ramadan and ending a few days after Ramadan. This year, we will offer up to 50 per cent discounts on over 400 products. We will be offering a good reduction on items that are heavily consumed by the people who fast such as rice powder, black chickpeas, sugar, juices, syrups and fresh vegetables,” said Dr Datar.
AlMaya Supermarket: Over 50 Al Maya Supermarkets will launch promotions and discounts for 45 days on more than 480 items including beverages, frozen foods, fresh produce and other grocery items.
“We have designed three promotions which are Pre-Ramadan, Ramadan One and Ramadan Two promotions wherein we offer over 480 Ramadan essentials with a discounts of around 30 per cent. The promotion will start from March 1, 2023, and will run for 45 days and the items covered are beverages, frozen foods, fresh produce and other grocery items with attractive offers,” said Kamal Vachani, group director and Partner of Al Maya Group.
Once Ramadan begins, Al Maya Supermarkets will continue to offer great deals on a range of products, including dates, sweets, and other traditional Vachani said customers can also enjoy deals on fresh produce, meat, and poultry, as well as special offerings on kitchen appliances and other household items.
Sharjah announces special permits to extend work hours
Sharjah Municipality has announced that businesses in the emirate will need special permits to extend working hours during Ramadan.
According to the authority, establishments such as stores and shops need to apply for this permit in order to continue operations after midnight during the holy month.
The permits can be applied for online at www.shjmun.gov.ae.
Engineering contractors are not allowed to obtain this permit to work after midnight.
Sharjah Municipality listed the establishments that are the exception to this rule. Restaurants, bakeries and cafeterias can extend working hours beyond midnight without this permit.
On the other hand, there are two permits that apply to eateries. One is to have displays during the day for food preparation and display at eateries, including those inside shopping centres. The fee for this permit is Dh3,000.
The other permit is to display snacks in front of eateries just before Iftar — the meal taken by Muslims to end their fast around sunset. The fee for this permit is Dh500.
Eatery owners or managers can apply for the permits at the Sharjah Municipality’s food control section counter in Suburbs Affairs Department, Industrial Area 5.
The municipality has also announced general guidelines to display food during the holy month.
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