Dubai has been estimated to have around 5.4 million square meter area under shopping malls in 2021 while it was only 4 million square meters back in 2019.
While of all those who have engaged in online shopping in 2020, for nearly 43%, pricing was the major factor.
What are other such factors when considering shopping in Dubai? Well, here are some – online as wells as offline – shopping statistics in Dubai to shed more light on the situation.
Online Shopping Statistics:
UAE has the highest rates of online penetration – 99.15%; while it is globally ranked 13th for frequency of goods/products purchased from the internet (Dubai Competitiveness Report, 2018)
The Economic Bulletin of the Dubai Department for Economic Development valued that the UAE’s eCommerce would show around 23% growth per year from 2019 up to 2022.
Statistics show that more than 80% of the shoppers in the UAE use their mobile phones when shopping – no matter if they are shopping online or offline. Some of these shoppers are savvy bargain hunters who are searching for the best and cheapest deals online before they move ahead to make the purchase. For these shoppers, shopping can be either online or offline – mostly based upon the fact of where they can find the best deals. This is why, comparison sites like ShopZilla, GoBazzar, etc. are prevalent which provide – price, ratings, reviews, etc. comparisons for consumers to know the best deals.
Now that we have a bit of understanding of Online Shopping, let’s dive into the Offline shopping statistics in Dubai.
Offline Shopping Statistics:
Around 55% of Dubai consumers prefer ‘shopping in person. More than 40% of shoppers prefer visiting stores physically for shopping to test the products. While 30% simply prefer the whole social shopping experience and hence indulge in it for enjoyment. To put it shortly, Offline Shopping also is equally a preference and is not going anywhere – at least in Dubai, UAE. Hence, e-commerce has not yet taken over the retail sector. Instead, retailers in Dubai have been bridging the gap between digital and physical. Statistically, around 36% of consumers in the UAE claim that AR/Digital try-on facilities can make them more inclined to opt for in-store or offline purchases.
Thus, the retailers are opting to provide iPads infused with apps and AR technology. In short, offline shoppers are physically exploring the offline stores while using tablets and scrolling through items available/not available within the store.
And if there are products not available, even when in-store, they can order those items for delivery at the desired address. On the other hand, if the item is available, they can check it out and avail the AR technology on the apps within the tablet to virtually try them on. Thus, the physical stores don’t only provide multi-experience for offline shopping, but also work as multi-platforms so that they bring online & offline shopping together.
Physical retail stores are even providing ‘Click & Collect’ provisions so that consumers can order products from home and they can personally visit the nearest branch of that retailer to collect the order. Conversely, consumers can also personally shop from a retail store and get the products delivered to the address they want. In May 2020, nearly 50% of the shoppers choosing for Omni-platform shopping and thus were either opting for home delivery after physical shopping or click & collect.
Along with infusing offline with online, another approach that can be seen in UAE physical stores is that of using online for advertising. This is evident with nearly 60% of UAE shoppers have made in-store purchases due to being influenced by advertisements seen on desktop or mobile phones.
Hence, it can be concluded that soon there will be a new mode of shopping evolved from this situation, which will have both offline and online shopping. It will be a merger of both where people can use both the mode to get the best deal.
