This year’s Abu Dhabi Winter Shopping Season marked a 17 percent increase in total transactions made on Visa cards compared to the same period last year, amounting to AED2.4 billion (approximately $654 million) spent on Visa cards throughout the three-month shopping event.
“The campaign’s success is not only measured through monetary gain; Retail Abu Dhabi’s agility and willingness to adapt to the evolving situation with Covid-19 set a new benchmark from which the emirate will benefit in the future,” Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, executive director of Tourism and Marketing at Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), told Arabian Business.
“With a focus on domestic tourism while at the same time highlighting the world-class retail offerings in the emirate, the campaign provided a unique experience for residents and laid the foundations for a regular rollout of more Abu Dhabi Shopping Seasons in the future,” he added.
With the successful vaccine rollouts across the UAE, consumers were more comfortable shopping in bricks and mortar stores during the campaign, said Al Shaiba.
Abu Dhabi Shopping Season delivered record sales figures of AED 2.4 billion were achieved on Visa cards
“A survey conducted by Retail Abu Dhabi showed 83 percent of the consumers felt encouraged to shop more than they usually would during seasonal shopping campaigns,” said Al Shaiba.
“Combining this insight along with record sales for the period, Retail Abu Dhabi’s winter campaign was a sign of growing consumer confidence,” he continued.
The seasonal campaign which ran from December 10 to February 14 was organised by Retail Abu Dhabi, the retail platform of DCT Abu Dhabi and included 21 malls and over 3,500 participating stores across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
While e-commerce has significantly evolved over the past year, with consumers increasingly buying everything from groceries to apparel online, Al Shaiba believes there is still room for the bricks and mortar stores that provide consumers with experiences instead of being merely places for transactions.
“It’s no secret e-commerce is evolving fast, and more brands are adopting an omnichannel approach; however, consumers will always enjoy the accessibility of physical stores,” explained Al Shaiba.
Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, executive director of Tourism and Marketing at Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi)
“There is no hiding the fact 2020 has been a challenging year for physical retailers and our primary objective is to continue rejuvenating the capital’s expansive retail sector. Retail Abu Dhabi is a sector enabler, providing opportunities for both the emirate’s retail industry and consumers with initiatives that leave a lasting impression through the engagement of new-to-region brands, first-in-the-emirate experiences, as well as immersive activations and promotions,” he continued.
This year’s Abu Dhabi Winter Shopping Season included the launch of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Beauty Week, which ran from February 4 to 14, and the event will return next year with “new and improved programming,” said Al Shaiba.
“This year will see the biggest-ever roll-out of dedicated Retail Abu Dhabi programming, which is the result of the successes we have shared via strategic collaborations with a consortium of public and private sector entities. As partners, we are all striving towards a shared goal, which is injecting purpose, passion and energy into the emirate’s tourism reopening and recovery,” said Al Shaiba.
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