The Dubai Duty Free stores, known as the dominant retailer in every Dubai International Airport (DXB) terminal, has announced extraordinary sales of AED 724.7 million ($198.5 million) this May.
The sales marked an increase of 12.5 per cent when compared to May 2024, making it the highest monthly sales figure recorded this year.
May 2025 is the second-highest sales month ever for a non-December period and ranks ninth among the all-time top 10 sales months including December figures.
“May continued the strong growth story of 2025, and I am especially happy that the increase in sales was seen in many of the major categories. As of May 31, our revenue has exceeded AED 3.5 billion ($1 billion), reflecting a year-to-date growth of nearly 6.5 per cent. These positive results are a direct reflection of the commitment and excellence shown by our entire team of staff,” Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, said in a statement.
Dubai Duty Free soars
Dubai Duty Free estimates that the 12.5 per cent sales growth for May is expected to outpace passenger traffic by 7-8 per cent, which averaged approximately 242,000 passengers per day.
Daily sales averaged AED 23.3 million ($6.38 million), the percentage of travellers who made a purchase rose to 28 per cent (up from 26.3 per cent in May 2024), and average spending per departing passenger climbed to AED 171.5 million ($46.7 million), an increase of AED 11 ($3) year-on-year.
In May, growth was strong across all major product categories, notably because of the “Dubai Chocolate”, which boosted confectionery sales up 81 per cent with AED 73.9 million ($20.2 million).
Perfume sales reached AED 132.8 million ($36.4 million), increasing almost 15 per cent over the same month last year. In addition, cosmetics are up 10.8 per cent with AED 35.2 million ($9.6 million) in sales.
Cigarettes and tobacco reached 14.4 per cent, generating AED 77.6 million ($21.3 million) in sales.
Gold sales are up 11.65 per cent, reaching AED 70.7 million ($19.4 million) and precious jewellery increased 31.75 per cent with sales of AED 20.2 million ($5.5 million). Fashion sales also saw a 4.7 per cent increase over May 2024 with sales of AED 71.3 million ($19.5 million).
Liquor sales reached nearly 4 per cent to AED 89.9 million ($24.6 million) and electronics recorded a 5.4 per cent increase with AED 41.7 million ($11.4 million) in sales.
In full, these increases contributed to over AED 80 million ($22 million) in additional sales compared to May 2024.
Airport retail revenue surges
Throughout the concourses, Concourse B in Terminal 3 led the growth with a 17.5 per cent increase, followed by Concourse D in Terminal 1 at 10.7 per cent, Concourse A increased by 7.8 per cent and Concourse C by almost 1 per cent.
Terminal 2 Departures recorded a 20.8 per cent year-on-year increase, while ‘Arrivals’ stores across all three terminals had a combined growth of 6.25 per cent following the completion of its renovations and refurbishment.
Sales across all key passenger regions were positive with Europe up to 25.9 per cent, the Russian region up 14 per cent, the Far East up 5.2 per cent, the Middle East up 14 per cent and the Indian subcontinent up 4 per cent, despite recent travel disruptions.
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