First online retail sales directory Offeraty.com launches in Dubai during shopping festival

Dubai, January 14, 2014 – Offeraty.com, the first online guide for retail offers and discounts in Dubai, has launched in the Emirate, coinciding with the start of the Dubai Shopping Festival 2014. The interactive website www.offeraty.com enables consumers to track enticing shopping bargains at Dubai's largest malls, starting from clothing and all the way to electronics.

The launch comes at the perfect time, when shoppers from the United Arab Emirates and tourists visiting Dubai flock to the malls to take advantage of the discount-heavy festival. Shopping malls in Dubai witness significant increases in footfalls, while retailers see a spike in sales, as they get ready to usher in a new fashion season. Offeraty's platform is interactive and easy to navigate, facilitating an easy and pleasant browsing experience.

“With Offeraty, we aim to make consumers' lives easier,” said Louay Talostan, Business Development Manager at Offeraty. “The website enables shoppers to save time, money and effort by providing them with an up-to-date list of offers and discounts at a click of a mouse. Such insight would normally require a trip to the mall, but can now be checked from the comfort of a home.”

Offeraty.com enriches the shopping experience for consumers and is a welcome addition to supporting the emirate's growing retail sector, which is considered a key contributor to its economy.

“Dubai's position as a regional and global retail hub has expanded significantly over the past decade,” said Talostan. “Visitors to the emirate are finding more and more reasons to come to the emirate for the discount seasons in order to avail some of the hottest offers out there. This has added emphasis to the emirate's standing as an important trade and tourism hub. Through Offeraty, we aim to support this growth with our innovative portal.”

A recent study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found that 80 percent of consumers search for information regarding products they wanted to buy before heading to the shops. Despite the increase in online shopping activity globally, purchasing goods and products at physical retail outlets or shopping malls is still the dominant trend.

“There is still no real competition between online and traditional shopping, with internet shopping comprising a relatively low percentage of buying activity compared to direct purchases from shops and malls,” said Talostan. “This trend has prevailed because for many people shopping is not only seen as an essential activity, but one that is also entertaining. What's more, traditional buying offers consumers an important advantage - the opportunity to try on or try out products before buying them, especially when it comes to clothes or electronics.”

As of today, Offeraty presents consumers with information about offers and discounts across 15 major shopping malls in Dubai. Visitors simply have to browse the website by choosing a category, such as store or mall name or store category, whether it's clothing, shoes, electronics or other. They can also search by using categories such as offers or raffles. In a matter of minutes, visitors can easily check all existing offers at any of the 15 malls, which include Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Mall, Mall of Emirates, Dubai Festival City, Deira City Center, Mirdif City Center, Burjuman, Mercato, Wafi, Al Ghurair, Lamcy Plaza, Arabian Center, Ibn Battuta and Times Square.