Dubai: Shopping malls in Dubai are wearing the festive look with large Christmas trees and signs of sales, discounts and other offers to lure shoppers and visitors.
A number of retailers have already geared for the Christmas rush, although Christmas sales have been a rather low-key affair.
"Christmas is always good for the UAE's retail sector as sales usually go up during these two weeks till New Year's Eve," Govind Bharwani, President and Director of Apparel Group, told Gulf News.
"This year also, we expect the same thing to happen. All our retail outlets — more than 620 in the GCC and 320 in the UAE, will be busy with activities. Besides, this year the Christmas sale is coming after the Eid holidays and Diwali sales — which is good."
This year, the retailers also have an additional reason to be cheerful. Right after Christmas and New Year, the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) will kickstart for 32 days.
"During this period, we expect to see lots of tourists coming in as hotels and airlines offer good deals for inbound travellers," Bharwani said.
Kamal Vachani, director of Al Maya Group, which operates a large number of supermarkets and corner stores, said: "Christmas trees and decorations are up in most of our supermarkets so that the customers can have a great shopping experience.
"We are looking forward to great sales this shopping season. A number of confectionery items have been specially arranged and a large number of items have been flown from the UK and US for this festive season," he added.
Among the hypermarkets, Carrefour, Geant, Lulu and Hyperpanda already have large Christmas trees and the usual decor.
Nandkumar Vijayan, spokesperson for Emke Group, said: "We have always believed in being part of the lives of the diverse and multi-ethnic population of the UAE and festivals, especially Eid and Christmas, are on top of the list. Like every year, we have not left any stone unturned to make Christmas memorable for our shoppers, especially those who miss their homeland.
"We have imported a large range of both food and non-food products from around the world, and we have special displays in all our stores."
