Egyptian retailers offer promotions after EGP appreciation

CAIRO – 21 February 2017: Retailers in Egypt will address the recent appreciation of the Egyptian Pound via promotions on goods currently in stock, while holding off on lowering actual prices for the time being, according to Al Borsa.

Mohanad Adly, CEO of hypermarket chain Spinneys, said suppliers are rolling out “special offers,” while more permanent price reductions will be forthcoming.

The Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) is “communicating with the producers of food commodities to reduce the prices … in light of a decline in production costs,” CPA chairperson Atef Yacoub said.

While reductions on prices will not be immediate, these promotions and discounts may help retailers move goods currently on shelves. A study by Dr. Dalia Abdel Rahman Farrag, assistant professor of Marketing and Head of Marketing courses at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Alexandria, showed that “Egyptian consumers are very price sensitive,” and that price discounts play “the most significant role in shaping consumers’ brand-switching behavior and spending more in super and hypermarkets compared to other promotional tools.”