One of the best known shopping extravaganzas, the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) is in full flow in the emirate and has set the cash registers ringing once again for retailers. The longest-running and the largest shopping festival in the world, DSF has attracted 56 million visitors to the emirate in the past two decades, resulting in a total spend of more than Dh145 billion.
“DSF is well known around the world and can be nominated as a signature shopping fest in the UAE,” says Diana Jarmalaite, Research Analyst with Euromonitor International.
With expected increase in retail spend during the festival, card issuers in the UAE are offering deals on credit cards to make shoppers swipe more. Visa has a number of DSF offers this year. It has launched the Impossible Deals campaign, which will offer cardholders a limited number of impossible deals, representing up to 80 per cent off on a range of electronics, travel, entertainment, luxury goods and automobiles.
According to Visa, the total Visa card spend in the first two weeks of DSF 2015, between January 1 to January 15, rose by 12 per cent compared to the same period in 2014. Visitors from the Middle East and North Africa spent a total of $96.75 million (Dh355 million) on Visa cards during the first half of DSF 2015.
The UAE’s sophisticated digital payment infrastructure aids plastic payments for such vital economic events as DSF, says Promoth Manghat, CEO, UAE Exchange. “The UAE government is constantly inching towards transforming the country into a cashless society,” he says. “Regulators and authorities are significantly investing in technology so as to ensure complete security in payments and transactions through the digital framework.
“The adoption of secured digital payments technology has facilitated the residents of the country to carry out financial transactions conveniently anywhere anytime across the emirates and beyond.”
Jarmalaite agrees. “In 2015, almost all consumer-oriented establishments in the UAE have had suitable infrastructure for card payments, translating to more than 123,000 point-of-sale (POS) terminals in the country,” she says. “In the UAE, one POS terminal serves about 60-70 residents, not considering tourists.
“Overall, the available payment infrastructure places the UAE among the most developed countries in the world such as the UK, the US, Germany and others.”
Jarmalaite advises retailers to make the most of cashback credit cards in the DSF sales. “Consumers in the UAE are keen to reap the rewards offered by credit cards,” she says. “By the end of 2015, Euromonitor International is estimating the number of credit cards to have reached 4.7 million, excluding commercial credit cards.
“Extra incentives such as instant rewards — discounts that are applied at the moment of purchase — are extremely appreciated by the customers. On the other hand, the possibility to participate in lotteries, win extra prizes are successful as well.”
When launched in 1996, DSF attracted 1.6 million visitors. It now annually attracts an average of about 4.5 million visitors. There are more than 70 malls and 6,000 retail outlets participating, offering discounts of up to 75 per cent on everything ranging from fashion brands and electronics to jewellery.
Vipen Sethi, CEO of the Landmark Group, says the festival has gone from strength to strength. “Today it is easily one of the best shopping festivals across the globe,” he says. “It is certain that an event of such magnitude will always gather a lot of attention and attract a large number of tourists.
“The festival’s secret of success is its ability to cater and provide offerings to tourists from around the globe. And as retailers, we aim to create a strong and attractive offer for our shoppers across our brands so that we can add greater value to the overall DSF offer. Every year, we see a significant increase in the number of tourists and residents taking part
in DSF, which, in turn, increases engagement in the region.”
This engagement is seen in the form of increased footfall and spends for the retail sector, he says. “DSF also brings in much more in terms of footfalls into several other sectors besides retail such as transportation, hospitality and F&B outlets,” says Sethi. “The festival appeals largely to shoppers who are seeking great value, discounted products, bundled offers and other promotional activities. Each of our brands caters to the demands and trends that have been observed during the season and selections are then [made on that basis].”
Ahmad Hussain Bin Essa, CEO of Global Village, one of many shopping attractions during Dubai’s biggest shopping event, is predicting another record year for retail takings. “At Global Village, the DSF period is traditionally among our busiest,” he says. “We are anticipating a successful DSF period that will bring a major economic boost to the park and help to consolidate the reputation of Global Village as a fantastic destination for local, regional and increasing numbers of international visitors looking for a fantastic variety and range of unique products and gift items from all over the world.”
