Do Buy in Dubai: Enhancing the Retail Experience through Entertainment
According to a marketing campaign promoting the emirate as the ultimate leisure and shopping destination of the world, “Dubai” and “Do-buy” are one and the same. Dubai is positioned as the world’s fastest growing retail market, with around 2.2 million square feet of retail space currently under construction. Growth in population and an increase in tourist inflow have led to the demand for all types of retail space. Second only to Hong Kong, the UAE ranked as one of the highest locations for recreational shopping, where 30% of local respondents shopped once a week for “entertainment”.
Dubai has revolutionized the concept of mall shopping. Customer experience is taken to a new level, where malls
are not just shopping centres but community centres that offer visitors leisure and cultural attractions as well. Take the Ibn Battuta mall for instance (which I had the opportunity to visit while I was in Dubai this past January). I was shocked and amazed walking through each different themed wing of the mall; each based on the travels of the 14th-century explorer through North Africa, Egypt, Persia, India, China and Andalusia. Shoppers are taken through a virtual history lesson as they browse Sunglass Hut, or have a bite to eat at KFC.
Probably the most well-known of all malls in Dubai for its entertainment factor is Mall of the Emirates, which houses the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East. Although I was initially attracted to the 400+ North American and European retailers at MOE, wh.jpg)
at actually brought me to the mall was the opportunity to experience Ski Dubai firsthand. Because I was already at MOE, I ended up spending more money and visiting stores I otherwise probably wouldn’t have, had I not wanted to go to Ski Dubai.
Retailers are benefiting tremendously from a new generation of malls that are using entertainment to enhance the experience for customers before they actually enter the retail stores. Increased traffic is created due to a high percentage of shoppers which are drawn to the mall solely because of its other attractions. Although retailers do not have direct control over this traffic, they are benefiting because it results in a larger pool of potential customers already in the building, walking by the store and possibly entering and purchasing products. By providing entertainment in the mall, shoppers are kept in the building for longer and are likely to purchase more.
As Pat Pecora, our guest speaker from SC Johnson mentioned the other day, the future of retail is turning more and more
towards enhancing the customer experience in order to gain and maintain lifelong loyalty. This applies to retailers and malls alike. Future plans for the upcoming Dubai Mall involve building the world’s largest aquarium, the world’s largest gold souk (open market), a 22-screen Cineplex and an Olympic-size ice rink. The grandiosity of these plans for enhancing the customer experience at the mall doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon, and that doesn’t surprise me. Because in Dubai, too much is never enough.
Dubai has revolutionized the concept of mall shopping. Customer experience is taken to a new level, where malls
are not just shopping centres but community centres that offer visitors leisure and cultural attractions as well. Take the Ibn Battuta mall for instance (which I had the opportunity to visit while I was in Dubai this past January). I was shocked and amazed walking through each different themed wing of the mall; each based on the travels of the 14th-century explorer through North Africa, Egypt, Persia, India, China and Andalusia. Shoppers are taken through a virtual history lesson as they browse Sunglass Hut, or have a bite to eat at KFC. Probably the most well-known of all malls in Dubai for its entertainment factor is Mall of the Emirates, which houses the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East. Although I was initially attracted to the 400+ North American and European retailers at MOE, wh
.jpg)
at actually brought me to the mall was the opportunity to experience Ski Dubai firsthand. Because I was already at MOE, I ended up spending more money and visiting stores I otherwise probably wouldn’t have, had I not wanted to go to Ski Dubai.Retailers are benefiting tremendously from a new generation of malls that are using entertainment to enhance the experience for customers before they actually enter the retail stores. Increased traffic is created due to a high percentage of shoppers which are drawn to the mall solely because of its other attractions. Although retailers do not have direct control over this traffic, they are benefiting because it results in a larger pool of potential customers already in the building, walking by the store and possibly entering and purchasing products. By providing entertainment in the mall, shoppers are kept in the building for longer and are likely to purchase more.
As Pat Pecora, our guest speaker from SC Johnson mentioned the other day, the future of retail is turning more and more
towards enhancing the customer experience in order to gain and maintain lifelong loyalty. This applies to retailers and malls alike. Future plans for the upcoming Dubai Mall involve building the world’s largest aquarium, the world’s largest gold souk (open market), a 22-screen Cineplex and an Olympic-size ice rink. The grandiosity of these plans for enhancing the customer experience at the mall doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon, and that doesn’t surprise me. Because in Dubai, too much is never enough.posted by Stephanie at
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
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