Dubai Summer Surprises nets millions

Dubai: Participating malls in this year's Dubai Summer Surprises have reported Dh440 million in total sales in the first three weeks of the shopping campaign.

A spokesman for the Dubai Shopping Malls Group said members believed that this increase was driven by the various Dubai Summer Surprises promotions.

These included customers being given the chance to win one of two BMW 3 Series sedans every week.

Under the promotion, for every Dh200 spent at a participating retail outlet, shoppers are entitled to one raffle coupon.

Those who pay for their shopping with MasterCard receive an additional raffle coupon.

"The increase in sales is a reflection of growing consumer confidence in the economy and the success of our DSS campaign," said Dubai Shopping Malls Group Chairman Majid Al Ghurair.

"We expect a weekly sales growth of 10-12 per cent during the rest of the promotion period," he said.

Dubai Shopping Malls Group Board Director Eisa Adam Ebrahim said there had been a marginal improvement in this year's results compared to the same period last year.

"We hope the trend continues," he said.

Above expectations

He said that results had beat expectations.

The sales were currently driven by residents and visiting friends and relatives.

However, tourists were expected to increase sales even more in the coming four weeks of the promotion, he said.

Ahmad Ashraf, Business Head at Sayegh Brothers, a Dubai company whose portfolio includes electronic stores, said that during May and the first two weeks of June, "business was pretty slow" compared to recent weeks.

"If you compare it to that there has been a spike," Ashraf said.

"I can see an increase in footfall and an increase in the will to buy.

"There was a reluctance before because people were waiting for the summer and the sales to start."

"A lot of people are doing their holiday shopping and buying for friends and family," he said.

"And the retailers are really going of their way to grab the customers' attention."

Al Maya Group Director Kamal Vachani said there was "a general feel where people tend to be buying more" during the Dubai Summer Surprises.

Al Maya Group includes 28 supermarkets across the country.

Here's where to go

The participating malls in the DSS 2010 are: Al Bustan Centre, Al Ghurair City, Al Manal Centre, Al Mulla Plaza, Arabian Centre, BurJuman, Century Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai Marina Walk, Dubai Outlet Mall, Gold and Diamond Park, Hamarain Centre, Lamcy Plaza, Mazaya Centre, Mercato Mall, Oasis Centre, Palm Strip, Reef Mall, Souk Al Bahar, The Dubai Mall and Town Centre.