Shoppers enjoying with family and friends at City Center (left), and Doha Festival City. Pics: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
Qatar’s retail market is again buzzing with activity as shoppers are back to showrooms with family and friends. Residents’ shopping spree has set the cash register ringing at the malls, hypermarkets and showrooms, which have opened their doors after implementing all the safety measures prescribed by authorities.
Better connectivity with start of Doha Metro and permission to allow children to enter malls have increased the flow of shoppers to showrooms.
Safety measures taken by malls and hypermarkets have instilled greater confidence among residents, encouraging them shop with their family members.
“We are delighted to welcome back our younger shoppers who can delight in the open space provided by the wide malls and ambient space afforded by the design of Festival City. With precautionary measures remaining in force throughout all our reopening phases, we have seen a steady influx of visitors to the Mall, now including families with children of all ages allowed to re-enter the Mall,” Robert Hall, General Manager of Doha Festival City told The Peninsula.
“This decision comes at the perfect time for families to return to the Mall for the Back to School and End of Season retail offers. Families can now shop from a myriad of retail stores for all their school essentials with the utmost ease of mind and reassurance that their safety is safeguarded according to the highest standards,” he added.
Checking customers’ temperature, Ehteraz app status and masks, keeping hand sanitisers, regular sanitisation have now become a permanent feature of Qatar’s retail sector.
“In addition to supporting families where required with face masks designed for use by children, we would still like to reiterate that all our operations comply with the precautionary and preventive measures set by the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs,” said Hall.
“At the entrance to the mall and all shops, visitors must show their green Ehteraz QR code, and wear a face mask during their time in the mall. Physical distancing stickers in common queuing areas, such as ATM machines, banks, telecommunication kiosks and branches and various retail shops were installed to help shoppers be reminded to keep the required physical distance as set forth in the guidelines by the authorities,” said Hall, elaborating about the measures taken by Doha Festival City for customers’ and staff safety.
Parents are happier with the decision to allow children to enter malls and hypermarkets. Earlier, the families were avoiding going to malls because it was difficult to go for shopping, leaving kids at home.
“Even though malls were open earlier, I was not going there because children below 12 years were not allowed. It is very difficult for us to leave our eight year old daughter at home and go for shopping. We were eagerly waiting for permission for malls to allow children. Once children are allowed, we have resumed our weekly shopping with family,” a resident told The Peninsula.
Aiming to capitalise on customers’ confidence, malls and hypermarkets have announced array of offers and discounts to attract them. Special deals and exciting offers can be seen at all the major malls and hypermarkets.
“Malls are not just shopping destination, they have now become a place for family outings. They have cinemas, restaurant, entertainment and showrooms, which makes them a perfect place for family outings. The weather is still hot and humid which means we cannot go to park or beaches during the afternoon. Reopening of malls is a great relief during summer time, as we have nowhere else to go for family outing,” another resident told The Peninsula.
The food court outlets, dining areas, and cinemas have undergone thorough sanitisation to welcome the returning visitors and serve them in a world-class hygienic and safe environment. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, youngsters should be accompanied by their parents.
As per the instructions of concerned government authorities, playgrounds and leisure centers will remain closed while cinemas are open to guests over 18 years with limited capacity.
Doha Festival City recently announced a range of new offers to celebrate the End of Year Season from a host of retail stores with special deals and exciting offers for our visitors from mid-September till early November 2020.
