Decoding Dubai Fashion Consumer Insights

Global fashion businesses are vying for market share in Dubai, as the UAE proves one of the fastest growing apparel markets worldwide with a compound annual growth rate of 5 percent between 2024 and 2030, according to Euromonitor.

Dubai consumers are also bucking the trend of diminishing consumer appetite driving the global luxury slowdown. A survey of Dubai residents conducted in 2024 by BoF Insights and Dubai Design District (d3), part of TECOM Group PJSC, found that 55 percent of respondents selected luxury apparel, accessories and footwear as an expected top-five discretionary spend outlet for them in the next three years.

But capturing the attention of an immensely diverse consumer base — in a city ripe with fashion and retail offerings — remains a challenge for many brands today.

Earlier this year, BoF released a white paper in partnership with d3, Inside the Fashion Opportunity in Dubai, which dives into the retail trends and wider business opportunities in Dubai’s rapidly growing fashion industry. The paper draws on the proprietary insights from the residents survey, featuring responses from more than 1,000 Dubai residents, to better understand their expectations and consumer behaviour in the city.

As a city evolving at pace — from its rapidly expanding population to heavy investment in digital and infrastructural developments — this BoF LIVE adds a new layer to the comprehensive analysis on consumer behaviour and trends in the paper.

To add further strategic advice for global and regional businesses looking to maximise their reach and impact in Dubai, BoF’s commercial features director Sophie Soar was joined by Chalhoub Group’s president of joint ventures Jasmina Banda, d3’s head of business development Reem AlAboodi, and BoF Insights’ head of advisory Rawan Maki.

Below, BoF shares key takeaways and actionable advice from the discussion.

Understand and Cater to the Nuanced Dubai Consumer

The panellists opened the discussion with insights into the diverse demographics of the Dubai consumer base, relating to the expansive expat population, the regional and Emirati subcultures of the local residents, and the array of touristic nationalities — from those visiting for the first time to those who regularly return to Dubai for extended periods.

“We have these diverse populations and we need to cater to [all of] them,” says Banda. “It’s important to differentiate [the] type of tourists that we have [...] And maybe look at two different dimensions, maybe it’s even a matrix.”

This diversity extends beyond demographics to shopping preferences and cultural practices. Some examples she provides of how Chalhoub Group caters to different consumer bases includes the need for language-inclusive signposting in stores, without assuming everyone speaks English. She also emphasises an evaluation on sizing and fit, as shoppers will use different regional size guides, and the “type of fashion they wear”, such as modest fashion preferences, for example.

“We have more than 200 nationalities here and that creates a mix of Arab heritage and global influence,” says AlAboodi. “We’re seeing a shift in how people experience fashion. It’s not just about shopping anymore; it’s about culture, events and community.”

Indeed, d3 as a global creative hub, is the force behind some of the leading creative events in Dubai, from Dubai Fashion Week to Dubai Design Week and the contemporary culture festival Sole DXB. D3 is also catering to this amalgamation of culture and community. Today, it is a hub for more than 1,100 creative businesses and over 20,000 professionals within art, design and fashion, which all facilitates greater collaboration and access to different disciplines and businesses. By 2028, d3 is set to open six new buildings to support the growth of the creative community.

Collaborate with Local Talent to Build Cultural Authenticity

Maki reflects on data from the Dubai residents survey, for which 40 percent of respondents said they’re more likely to purchase when a brand collaborates with Emirati talent. “It shows the impact not only of local pride, but also really a desire for investing in kind of homegrown pieces as well.”

She adds: “Young professionals are adopting contemporary styles in kaftans and abayas, and that’s not even staying stable — that’s actually going up.”

With Ramadan collections already a common strategy for global and regional brands looking to engage in the cultural calendar, Banda talks of taking it a step further and integrating local talent to elevate activations. She cites a collaboration between Louis Vuitton and a local artist on a fragrance during Ramadan.

Young professionals are adopting contemporary styles in kaftans and abayas, and that’s not even staying stable — that’s actually going up.

—  Rawan Maki, Head of Advisory at BoF Insights

She discusses marketing and media opportunities, ensuring you tap into regional influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) that resonate with different communities within Dubai. “When we want to appeal to local customers, we make sure we are in relevant media, [using] relevant ambassadors or faces.”

AlAboodi also shares how local Arab youth like to purchase from brands that are “supporting local talent, designers, artists, influencers. It really shows that the brand is invested in the community and not just the market.”

She adds: “The consumer here isn’t passive — they influence how brands behave. We’ve seen international designers adjust their collections for Dubai and local designers rise because of the strong demand for authenticity.”

Invest in Omnichannel Strategies Beyond Basic Digital Presence

“We saw that omnichannel convenience is really non-negotiable for the customer in Dubai. The survey showed really strong expectations around seamless digital and physical integration,” says Maki. “There is this very popular choice of ‘buy online and pick up in store’, and that was actually the favourite choice of how people would like to purchase with a higher preference than home delivery on one end and a higher preference to full in-store shopping. So the blend was extremely appreciated.”

“Value is defined a little bit more holistically,” she adds. “It’s the service you get, it’s the speed of delivery, it’s the private clientele. So I think there’s a little more layering in terms of what value the customer is getting as opposed to just price and product.”

Retail businesses have elevated their digital services to meet consumer expectations by rapidly reducing delivery times. Banda shares how Chalhoub Group-owned luxury footwear retailer Level Stores “delivers in Dubai in 90 minutes. When we have new brands coming and it really works. The other day I ordered and it was actually 63 minutes until the delivery person rang my door.”

People here love firsts, whether it’s a limited drop, first-to-market launch or behind the scenes access — it really creates a buzz.

—  Reem AlAboodi, Head of Business Development at Dubai Design District

This elevated omnichannel and digital offering has surged in recent years, fuelled by strong governmental focus on digital transformation and innovation as part of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) to double the GDP by 2033. AlAboodi also references the Dubai Design Sector Strategy 2033, which reflects Dubai’s ambitious design vision, including “supporting 500 design businesses and hosting more than 100 local and international events by 2033.”

In-person events and physical retail remain central to the Dubai consumer experience, with the mall and neighbourhoods like d3 a significant part of daily life. It is where residents shop but also socialise, eat and seek entertainment.

But “the online-offline equation is only becoming more and more important,” says Maki. “There’s still so much room for online penetration to increase, whereas in other markets, it’s more saturated.”

Elevate Service Standards to Match Expectations

With the Dubai consumer typically well-travelled, with an array of international reference points for their retail experience, the expectation of an elevated experience and service heightens further.

“The offering that we need to provide in stores, both in terms of merchandising, the collection, look and feel of the store, and the service by the staff, needs to be as close as possible or better than what we do in some of the other parts of the world,” says Banda, who references LVMH-owned jewellery brand Chaumet, which partners with Chalhoub Group in the city, as an example of a brand resonating well in the locality.

The offering that we need to provide in stores [...] needs to be as close as possible or better than what we do in some of the other parts of the world.

—  Jasmina Banda, President of Joint Ventures at Chalhoub Group

She attributes a lot of its success to how the retail team and the general manager has managed to “connect well with the local clientele and provide exactly the types of service, the types of storytelling and the types of relationship to make it happen.”

“When people say, it’s a nice store, but the service is not as good as in [another city], these are usually brands that struggle.”

She also recommends that luxury brands invest in in-store tailors. “It’s not an option to take measurements, send it somewhere and one week later have a customer come to the store and pick it up,” she explains. “It needs to be done in a record time, and then people expect a white glove service delivery to the home.”

Create Exclusivity Through Tailored Brand Touchpoints and Launches

“Exclusivity is a big thing,” says AlAboodi. “People here love firsts, whether it’s a limited drop, first-to-market launch or behind the scenes access — it really creates a buzz.”

Maki concurs, reflecting how Dubai shoppers’ prioritisation for “experience, service and exclusivity” is what has made the market “less vulnerable at this particular moment to things like pricing pressure globally”.

She references the Dior menswear show, which was livestreamed in Dubai with local influencer commentary overlaid. The majority of competitors, she argues, still use social media “in a very broad, global broadcast way. Sso there’s something there about cutting through the digital atmosphere in a way that has more exclusivity.”

“Some of our global clients [...] create communities in a very creative, very niche way — tied to particular subcultures. I think we’ve yet to see that for Dubai and that’s the next stage,” adds Maki, citing opportunities to tap into women’s groups or artistic communities. “Smaller brands will be able to do this. With bigger brands, there’s a natural ceiling. But I think that it’s just more ripe there than other markets.”

This is a sponsored feature paid for by Dubai Design District as part of a BoF partnership.