Shopping in Dubai is like shopping nowhere else. Few places can compare to shopping in Dubai. With a population of over three million (mostly foreigners), the City of Gold on the Persian Gulf is home to about 100 malls, many of which are grand shopping complexes that offer six-star browsing experiences. With the extra bonus of air conditioning, these maze-like retail megastructures offer all the fun one could ask for, especially considering the oppressively hot weather that prevents outside activities for half the year.
In the not-too-distant past, tax-free Dubai was not only the world’s shopping Mecca (it even still hosts the annual, weeks-long Dubai Shopping Festival), but it was also famous as the city of deals. No matter the financial range, there were deals on luxury goods like gold, jewelry, perfume, carpets, designer purses, sunglasses, and cell phones. Shipping in Dubai is deals as plentiful as dates, ripe and ready to be pick.
However, although shopping in Dubai remains a bloodsport for dedicate fashionistas, the deals are no longer to be plucked like low-hanging fruit. Sadly, recent trips to the infamous souks in Dubai’s Old Deira area reveal that gold and silver were still being sold by the gram there, albeit not at prices lower than anywhere else – once a given for these parts. Rather, a very simple set of $200 24-carat gold stud earrings were offers up to the bargain-seeking visitor. For an additional $400, the shop owner would add diamonds.
Shopping in Dubai: Deals and Steals in the Souk
In the Middle East, attars, or perfume oils, are always a good deal. However, before you can lower the price to “only for you” and make the vendor very angry, you’ll have to listen to lectures about the whale that produce the ambergris and the quality of the frankincense from saplings in Oman.
Replicate designer handbags, scarves, and leather products are still reasonably price in Dubai and may be found in the Al Karama District as well as in the older districts close to the perfume and gold souks. There, in between rows of strip mall-style stores in cramped, unappealing mazes of tiny air-conditioned showrooms and then in secret back rooms filled with tidy, well-lit product displays, is a pick-your-label frenzy.
Preimium Places
Ten years ago, you could have said to a guy who knows a guy that you were hoping to find a premium Hermes pocketbook, for example. The other person would lead you through dim hallways and alleyways, inside, around, and up this back staircase like you were looking for a gram of cocaine (remember, Dubai is one of the safest locations on earth), not a piece of jewelry for Granny.
Shopping in Dubai at Al Karama
After a while, you would find yourself in a room filled with shattered boxes and packing materials, where you would be shown bag after bag—a phony Fendi, a gorgeous Gucci, or this would-be Louis Vuitton—impressive replicas of almost everything, but not the exact one you were looking for. The request for the price follows. You utter $20. $100, they say. For $35, you purchase a copy of Prada from the previous year. Weary from the process, you step outside into the heat and ask the driver to take you to Downtown Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which is home to the largest mall in the world. Yes, they have Uber in Dubai, but taxis are less expensive.
Dubai Malls: High on the Buy
Even though Burj Khalifa is now the highest structure in the world (2,716.5 feet, 163 stories), it only makes sense that it would be situated above Dubai Mall, the biggest retail center in the world as of right now.
Possibly the most iconic building in Dubai (next to the distinctive sail design of the Burj Al Arab hotel), the Dubai Mall combines every aspect of a shopping experience into one massive area. It is a stop on the Dubai Metro and a prominent landmark in the skyline. A virtual reality park, an outdoor fountain show akin to the Bellagio fountain show in Las Vegas (and designed by the same designers), an Olympic-size ice skating rink, a world-class aquarium teeming with sharks, jellyfish, and cephalopods, and ultra-precious brand names like Cartier, Chanel, Harry Winston, Valentino, Hermes, and more await discovery. Discover personal shoppers to assist you in navigating the miles of aisles (imagine 1,200 stores and 12 million square feet of shopping space), as well as upscale eateries and cafes to relax in between shopping sessions.
American Malls?
Indeed, you will also discover the typical names associates with American malls, such as Footlocker, Adidas, Timberland, Aldo, and even a few bookstores. Additionally, Dubai Mall has its very own Chinatown, which consists primarily of a group of Hong Kong-style eateries in an Asian-themed wing decorated with red lanterns. Beyond that, enter the mall’s kasbah area for a more relax and stress-free experience purchasing locally made items like jewelry, scarves, perfumes, and carpets without engaging in emotionally charge bartering.
Prices for all retail goods in Dubai are equivalent to those in the United States for Americans visiting from the United States. Retail prices in Europe are typically 15-20 percent less than in their home countries. Asian consumers will find some value in high-end brands.
The pyramid-shaped Wafi Mall, which is locate close to Dubai Mall, is now dwarf by most of the city’s retail establishments but is still fun to visit if only for the unique entertainment options. Enter AYA, a multi-room, multi-dimensional immersive experience that creates a unique and powerful inner landscape of spectacular effects using lighting, sound, colors, forms, textures, and mirrors. Every chamber has a unique theme, and each room is an explosive and beautiful surprise.
In search of more? The solution is the Mall of Emirates. The mall’s ski slope, which feature a tiny skating rink, an ice castle libations bar, and a winter wonderland with skiers, snowboarders, and snowballs in the desert, garnere media attention when it first open in 2005. With 630 upscale brands spread across more than 2.4 million square feet of retail space, the shopping destination remains a popular destination for tourists seeking amusement and a cool place to shop throughout the summer.
Museum Of The Future
The newest museum in Dubai is locate not far from Sheikh Zayed Road, the main thoroughfare in the city: the Museum of the Future. The attraction is a crazy journey in this already futuristic metropolis and offers state-of-the-art insights into what is conceivable in the next 50 years, both internationally and locally, even though it isn’t specifically tied to a mall (though the gift store is amazing). As visitors drop levels and embark on both inner and exterior voyages and explorations, it begins with an elevator trip reminiscent of a Disney film that whisks them to an orbiting spaceship. A VIP pass costs between $40 and $108, with particular attention given to certain events and groups.
Shopping in Dubai: Next Stop Shops
“Next” is the key question in Dubai, and there is always a next there. Shopping-wise, Dubai Creek Square is the place to go. The project, which is develop by Emaar Properties at an expense above $1.5 billion, intends to quadruple the area of Dubai Mall, crown the Burj Khalifa with the new Dubai Creek Tower as the city’s focal point, and confiscate all of its records. Plans call for a futuristic jumble of soon-to-be-essential shopping tools, such interactive mirrors, 3-D prints apparel and accessories, smart fitting rooms, and A.L. robots that make recommendations.
The entire urban design has a futuristic feel, reminiscent of old Babylon, with palm-line streets, driverless “cars” navigating them, and shimmering escalators amidst hanging gardens, all beneath a massive glass canopy that lets in the desert sky. 10,000 residential units, at least 1,500 hotel rooms, and a Chinatown—which is expectation to the biggest in the Middle East—are all includes in the small metropolis. Along with a rooftop waterpark and water slide that plummets to the ground floor, it will also have an artists’ district, an upgrades Ice Adventure, and improve technology.
Magamall
It is a wise decision for the megamall project to build only ten minutes from Downtown Dubai and adjacent to Dubai International Airport (DXB). Its proximity makes it the nearest retail destination for the 85 million travelers who pass through the airport each year, even outside of its own retail wonderland. When everything is finishes, there will, of course, be a dedicate metro link that runs directly from the airport to Grand Central Station in Dubai Square. Dubai Creek Square was first announce in 2018 but was postpon because to the pandemic. The official opening date is not yet specify, although 2025 is the anticipat date.
Shopping in Dubai: Secrets of the Souk
If going shopping in the future is not in the cards, guests can travel back in time and learn about the ins and outs of Old Dubai through engaging, spontaneous tours offers by Frying Pan Adventures.
These include tastings of goods that preserve local customs but are seldom encounter by tourists, in addition to advice on how to buy and get the greatest deals in the souk.
For a convenient downtown stay, Sofitel Downtown Dubai, an Accor hotel, would be the choice. It is connect to the Metro system and to largest mall in the world by gleaming corridors of mobile pedestrian walkways – a must-have for six months of the year when heat is too oppressive to outside for more than a few minutes – and it is steps away from banks, soaring futuristic office towers, convention areas and other top hotels and shopping complexes.
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