School’s out and the mercury keeps rising, which can only mean one thing: Dubai Summer Surprises. Now in its 20th anniversary year, DSS runs until August 12, with more than 6,000 retailers taking part.
The first edition in 1998 was created to attract regional visitors to the emirate over the peak of summer. Ten malls took part with 600,000 visitors coming to Dubai. Two decades on, DSS is an established success.
But it wasn’t an easy sell initially, says Suhaila Ghubash, Festival and Events Director at Dubai Festivals & Retail Establishment (DFRE). “I’ve been told that when the idea of DSS was first discussed in 1998, everybody thought this was a crazy idea, that nobody would come to Dubai in the summer and now we have more than four million visitors coming to visit Dubai during the summer,” she says.
The festival is now associated with family entertainment, but supporting the retail sector remains a key goal. “This is definitely our mandate to support retail, because of the impact it has on Dubai’s local economy,” says Saeed Mohammad Measam Al Falasi, Executive Director, Retail and Strategic Alliance, DFRE. “The percentage that retail contributes to local GDP reaches 30 per cent. It tells you how much we’re trying to put our efforts behind retail.”
Analysts expect Dubai’s retail sector will grow 5 per cent in relative terms to last year, with the second half outperforming the first due to seasonal events such as DSS. “Euromonitor International expects the DSS contribution to be around Dh400-600 million in 2017,” says the firm’s research analyst Diana Jarmalaite. “The increasing amount of inbound tourism from the region during Eid as well as holiday shopping remain the key factors driving the positive results of DSS.”
Three new initiatives to attract summer shoppers are being launched this year
with an aim to create fresh opportunities for retailers.
The first is a mid-week 72-hour sale to draw in shoppers to bigger discounts during the quieter times of the retail week.
Likewise, the Friday Surprise in being heavily promoted across DSS social media channels — for one day only. “On Friday morning between 10 and 12 we are working with a couple of retailers to provide the deal of the week,” says Al Falasi. “They provide one item at a great discount in a limited quantity and we only announce it 24 hours before.”
The event also closes with a bang. “The grand finale of DSS, the last week of DSS, a lot of retailers will go on deep discount so this is definitely something to look out for,” he adds.
As a regionally targeted summer retail event, DSS has no other counterparts, says Jarmalaite.
Al Falasi says, “What makes it unique to Dubai is that we do have a lot of indoor spaces that can be utilised for the summer. Having the number of shopping malls that we do proves to be an ideal situation.”
Other sectors of the economy are also capitalising on the influx of summer visitors because four million shoppers also need to eat, drink and be merry.
Hospitality
Hotel groups in the UAE have a good grasp on the needs of their summer clients. Many offer daycation and staycation promotions targeted at residents and GCC visitors.
Those with outdoor venues invest in transforming their environment into temporary indoor spaces. The Taj Dubai hotel is coping with the heat by turning its Treehouse lounge into a greenhouse with a fully air-conditioned glass tent open until September to ensure business as usual.
The Bonnington Hotel and McGettigan Group, a family-run business that has seven seasons of summer experience in the emirate, cross-promote Dubai Summer Surprises on its website and see the value in tailoring its offerings to summer clientele. This includes a large number of shopping tourists from Eastern Europe, Africa and the Indian subcontinent who choose their Jumeirah Lakes Towers location for its proximity to the metro and access to the major malls.
“We are offering special staycation discounts both on rooms as well as F&B,” says Dennis McGettigan, CEO of the Bonnington Hotel and McGettigan Group.
“During the summer we have a mix of corporate and leisure guests.” The group says its core customers don’t really change, however.
“We have a great mix of expats who are very loyal all year long and of course tourists too.”
Retail
DSS was founded with shopping in mind and this year around 70 malls will participate, including the recently relaunched Dubai Festival City. “Consumer expectations for this year’s DSS are at an all-time high and we believe 2017 will bring the best DSS yet at Dubai Festival City,” says Steven Cleaver, Director of Shopping Centres at Al Futtaim Real Estate.
Festival City is in the final stages of its Dh1.5 billion expansion and is already seeing a 40 per cent increase in footfall compared to 2016.
Cleaver is looking forward to that trend continuing with the summer trading season. “As one of the most important retail periods for Dubai Festival City, we have invested significantly to make us a top destination of choice for customers all summer. This year will be the biggest DSS in Dubai Festival City’s history.
“We are pleased to work closely with Dubai Tourism to drive retail sales and provide customers with unique experiences.” One of those is Dubai’s next must-see selfie backdrop: a six-metre-high Confetti Dome, the largest of its kind and a unique photo opportunity for Festival City shoppers.
F&B
Food and beverage outlets across the UAE are redoubling efforts over summer to quench customers’ thirsts, focusing on one thing: refreshment.
“We capitalise on what our consumers want during this period, which is to beat the heat, and use it as a focal point to conceive our events and F&B offerings,” says Matt Connell, General Manager of Bull & Roo Hospitality.
“Rather than seeing the weather as challenge, we use it to our advantage,” says Connell. “At the end of the day, it’s a matter of knowing what your consumers want and playing on your venue’s strengths to give it to them.”
Bull & Roo are playing on the seasons this year, launching a Christmas in July celebration. Originally conceived as a southern hemisphere festivity to capitalise on cold weather in the middle of the year, it takes on new meaning for the group in Dubai. “It will incorporate design elements aimed to make consumers feel cooler and fresher,” explains Connell.
Another outlet in the Bull & Roo stable is the newly opened Muchachas Mexican Cantina at Business Bay. Its slushie machine offering frozen beverages has unsurprisingly proved a hit in this climate.
