Abu Dhabi’s retail sector flourishes amid coronavirus crisis

Abu Dhabi’s retail sector flourishes amid coronavirus crisis

Retail Abu Dhabi's UnBox Amazing shopping promotion was a big success with AED2 billion ($540 million) spent in 3,500 participating stores between July and September, according to data released by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi).

This translates into year-on-year increases of 31 percent in total spend and 23 percent in total transactions.

The surge in spending during the promotion period was mainly driven by domestic tourism, Ali Hassan Shaiba, executive director of tourism and marketing, DCT Abu Dhabi, told Arabian Business at the completion of the shopping campaign.

“The promotion's main market feeder were the residents of Abu Dhabi but we saw footfall coming from Dubai too, especially of the weekends,” said Al Shaiba.

The promotion was designed to give the retail sector support as it emerged