The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Festival City Mall offer enhanced shopping experience for DSF visitors.
Five malls in the city will remain open into the wee hours from January 16 to February 1. The malls implementing this initiative are The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Festival City Mall.
Retail outlets of The Dubai Mall will stay open from 10am to 2am and food outlets from 10am to 3am throughout the week. The new timings will mark a departure from regular mall timings from 10am to 10pm.
The Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Festival City Mall will extend the timings of their retail outlets from 10am to 1am during the weekdays and from 10am to 2am on weekends during the same period. Food outlets at these four malls will be open from 10am to 2am during weekdays and 10am to 3am on weekends.
The new timings will offer shoppers additional time to browse and buy from an extensive selection of the world’s best brands and pick up discounts of up to 75% on a wide range of merchandise, in addition to allowing them to enjoy the various entertainment offerings happening within the mall itself.
An increase in the number of visitors in Dubai from neighbouring countries over the next few weeks is expected, especially due to the mid-term school holidays.
Laila Suhail, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishments CEO, said: “We always look for ways to enhance the shopping experience for our Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) visitors. With shopping malls in Dubai becoming more of standalone destinations rather than just a shopping Centre, we are sure that extending mall hours till the wee hours of the day allows shoppers more time to shop and have fun, and at the same time enhances retail sales across the participating shopping malls”.
“We want families and visitors to avail the special discounts offered by thousands of retail outlets in the malls and share the extraordinary experience of shopping in Dubai during DSF in a true embodiment of the festival theme “Shop at your Best”.
Nasser Rafi, Emaar Malls Group CEO, said: “As a Strategic Partner of the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, we are committed to the various initiatives that are planned to make this year’s DSF the most memorable so far. To offer residents and visitors the opportunity of unprecedented shopping experiences, The Dubai Mall has also extended its operating hours, in addition to the restaurants at our Waterfront Promenade operating till 3am daily. The extended shopping and leisure hours will further energise Dubai’s retail, hospitality, and tourism sectors during DSF, in turn, contributing to the economy.”
“Given the immense success of Dubai Shopping Festival to-date, Majid Al Futtaim is offering even greater convenience and opportunity to our visitors with extended shopping hours for the festival,” said Fuad Mansoor Sharaf, senior director – property management for Majid Al Futtaim Properties.
The extended mall hours will be yet another boost to the retail sector, which has been enjoying high sales every year during DSF. In fact, in 2012, DSF attracted 4.3 million visitors to the city who spent a total of Dh14.7 billion. Of this, spend on shopping alone accounted for Dh8.9 billion. As shopping is one of the key elements of DSF, the festival has returned to its retail roots this year with a renewed focus on shopping with the new theme “Shop at your Best” aimed at offering residents and visitors from around the world unique shopping experiences at 70 malls and over 6,000 retail outlets across Dubai.
