With the approach of the holy month of Ramadan, competition between e-commerce platforms and traditional retail outlets has increased significantly, through either discount campaigns or additional offers to attract consumers. Retail markets have seen Ramadan discounts ranging from 10% to 70% in both physical stores and online platforms. E-commerce platforms, however, did not stop at offering deals on food products; they expanded discounts to include clothing, electronics, furniture, and home goods, in addition to offering installment plans on all purchases and extra discounts when using various credit cards. In turn, retail stores, alongside Ramadan discounts, offered cashback on purchases, additional loyalty points, and prize draws and coupon giveaways. At the same time, consumers told 'Al Ittihad' that the increased competition during Ramadan has added extra advantages for shoppers, with the variety and difference in offers and privileges between e-commerce platforms and stores. Retail specialists believe that this Ramadan season is the most competitive in years, due to factors such as increased purchasing power, a growing population, the rise of new retail entities in the market, and traditional stores developing their own platforms to keep up with the competition. In detail, consumer Hossam Ibrahim said: 'The increased competition between stores and e-commerce platforms ahead of Ramadan has led to additional offers in favor of consumers, allowing them to choose from different shopping methods and benefit from the available privileges.' Consumer Ahmed Youssef, in turn, said: 'The current Ramadan discount offers are the highest compared to last year, which supports more alternatives for consumer families, especially with the variation in offers and privileges available on e-commerce platforms compared to traditional stores.' In the same context, consumer Ali Hamdan said he noticed an increase and variety in Ramadan offers, whether on e-commerce platforms or traditional retail outlets, which is a positive development that enables shoppers to buy from stores and benefit from their offers while also purchasing part of their needs from platforms according to the best offers on both sides.' Meanwhile, the Business Development Manager of an e-commerce platform, Ribal Olbek, said: 'Ramadan is an exceptional shopping season, which heightens the competition between e-commerce platforms and traditional retail outlets, which has been notably evident during the current period. This Ramadan season is the most competitive compared to previous years, especially with the rise in purchasing power, supported by a significant increase in the population.' He added: 'The increased competition at a greater rate came with the growth in the number of retail entities in the local markets, whether from stores or e-commerce platforms in the recent period, which has doubled the offers to increase market share, especially with the development of many traditional stores with their e-commerce systems to keep up with higher rates of competition.' From his side, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Sharjah Cooperative, Faisal Khalid Naboodah, said: 'Signs of competition have risen sharply in retail markets in the recent period, which has increased the intensity of discount campaigns and additional special offers in the markets, especially since Ramadan is considered an exceptional season for consumer demand.' He added that 'the Cooperative, in addition to discounts, has offered prize draws for consumers that allow shoppers to win around 65 prizes, including 30 shopping vouchers, five cars, in addition to other prizes.' In the same context, the CEO of the Retail Sector at 'Adcoop', Bertrand Lemaire, said: 'Offers for Ramadan discounts were launched through traditional retail outlets, as they were also made available through electronic channels. Discounts on more than 1,500 essential items were offered, in addition to cashback offers for consumers worth 50 dirhams upon shopping with 250 dirhams.' On his part, the CEO of Union Cooperative, Mohammed Al Hashemi, said: 'The Cooperative has launched discount offers in retail outlets before Ramadan and until the end of the month, and has made the offers available through online shopping, which allows consumer families more shopping options,' noting that 'various prize draws for consumers have been launched with discount campaigns.' Ramadan.. The Month with the Highest Purchase Rates Retail expert Ibrahim Al Baher said: 'The current Ramadan season is the most competitive compared to previous seasons, which has made e-commerce platforms and stores not only offer wide-ranging discounts, but also resort to additional offers to attract consumers and increase their sales share.' He added: 'The development of traditional stores' activities and discounts through their e-commerce platforms has contributed to increasing competition with well-known e-commerce platforms,' explaining that the increase in population and purchasing power has made the existing entities in the market, whether platforms or stores, tend to increase their market share, especially since Ramadan witnesses a significant growth in consumer demand and yields large returns for retail entities, being the month with the highest purchase rates throughout the year.
