Naeema Al-Zarouni

The retail system is continuously adapting itself to changing demographics, consumer behaviour, and economic conditions. In Dubai, rapid population growth and the increasing number of tourists have led the commercial structure to adapt to change. The objective of this study is to understand the retail market structure in Dubai and to examine the recent growth of shopping centres in the Emirate. This will provide foreign retailers with a base study of the market in Dubai and will be useful to firms that are considering expansion in a new market. Shopping centres in Dubai, in contrast to those in most Western European and North American cities, continue to increase in size and scale. Sixteen shopping centres totalling 3,382,457 sq. ft have been added to the inner city since 1995. This growth represents a 52% increase in the inner city zone over the last decade, compared to only a 5% increase in the downtown core. Since 1995, the outer city zone has experienced a 219% increase in store size. Due to the lack of information about shopping centre sales, this paper also will attempt to estimate sales using informed assumptions. One approach to estimating sales is to use a straight percentage of rent. The other approach is to use consumer expenditure data. Both approaches revealed reasonable results.