Shop at dawn is the new mantra

After a grueling night of prayers and supplications during the last ten days of Ramadan, one wishes to lie down a bit to be ready for the day's work. But some retailers are hoping to entice their customers out of bed and into stores as early as 5 a.m.

The biggest shopping nights of the year are already underway with special discounts and many Eid offers and three major malls in particular are hoping to get a leg up the end of Ramadan with the earliest hours in a step to accommodate more customers and make more profits.

Saudi Gazette got mixed reaction from customers who came at dawn to buy Eid clothes for themselves and their children.

Nadeem Al-Harithy, from Taif, says he and his wife plan their Ramdan-weekend shopping around stores' pamphlets and brochures. This year they headed to various malls in Jeddah to shop for Eid.

While shopping centers in Taif are closing midnight, Al-Harithy noted that he wouldn't be opposed to shopping as early as 5 a.m. in Ramadan. "At this time of the year, if the retailers are open I would definitely take advantage of it if there were items that were on my list that I needed to get, at a good price," said Al-Harithy.

While shopping after Fajr time with her daughter, Maha Jabarti said: “It is a good idea and I never thought that I will shop in a mall at dawn.”

Fatimah Al-Abassi agreed with Maha and said that it was a great idea to avoid crowded shopping centers in evenings. “We heard of these working hours but we could not believe it at first. Then, we went ahead to call a few malls and found out that they were offering dawn shopping. We always stay up until 8 a.m. in Ramadan which made it easier for us to go shopping during that time instead of staying home.”

Staff at the malls are also having mixed reaction at working at dawn as the country gears up for the start of Eid shopping bonanza.

Jordanian Amjad Awad, who works in a clothing store, said he would only be happy if the extra working hours meant extra sales. “We really were surprised when we were instructed to work as early as 5 a.m. but when our boss explained to us the main reasons behind their decision, we would not mind as long as we get compensated,” he said.

“This is the first time that we are doing this, so both mall management and retailers now understand what the requirements are,” said Osama Al Salihi, a salesman who works at one of the retailing stores.

“Taking into consideration the influx of vacationers arriving for Eid in Jeddah, and to meet the big demand of customers for Eid, we are very optimistic that our sales will increase, surpassing what we reached last year,” he added.

Mall of Arabia, Al Salam Mall and Aziz Mall are open from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. essentially for Eid shopping.