United Arab Emirates

Other pet food continues to gain popularity in 2020 as the numbers of other pets in the United Arab Emirates continues to increase. Pet ownership is usually associated with high-income earners given the financial and logistical constraints of pet ...

Pet care sales in 2020 remain unaffected by the introduction of VAT, which was implemented in January 2018. The increase in prices has had little effect on pet owners as they want to buy the best products available for their pets. Many Emirati ...

Premium dog food continues to perform well in 2020, despite the introduction of a 5% VAT rate into the United Arab Emirates in 2018. The increase in prices that started in 2018 has not had any effect on demand in 2019 as pet owners continue to buy ...

Premium cat food continues to enjoy robust value and volume growth thanks to increasing humanisation and the new laws surrounding proper cat care. New variants have also stimulated sales, with brands such as Lily’s Kitchen now offering an organic ...

The growing presence of pet festivals, such as the Yas and Dubai Pet Festivals, continues to stimulate growth of pet products in the United Arab Emirates. The presence of these festivals exposes pet owners to niche pet products that they might not ...

Digital commerce in the United Arab Emirates is already well-developed, with numerous well-established online players present across the retailing, consumer foodservice, travel and tourism and services industries. Many of these successful online ...

Digital connectivity in the United Arab Emirates took a major leap forward towards the end of the review period as the country’s 5G mobile internet network was introduced. The United Arab Emirates is first country in the GCC region and just the ...

The digital consumer market in the United Arab Emirates was already well established at the start of the review period. The country has long been a leader in digital communications infrastructure and the population have a well-deserved reputation for...

Full-service restaurants continued to see slow but stable current value growth in 2019. As consumers continued to spend cautiously due to the implementation of VAT in 2018 and slow economic growth, this challenged restaurant operators to maintain ...

In 2019, consumer foodservice saw another challenging year, with players struggling to maintain their revenue targets and profit margins. The current value growth rate was a long way from the strong performances seen early in the review period, and ...

Cafés/bars continued to see current value growth in 2019, despite a slowing of the rate of increase. With the development of more independent players, there has been a trend towards modern-style cafés featuring and preserving the local Emirati ...

Street stalls/kiosks saw strong current value growth in 2019. With tourism being a key area of focus for the country to diversify its revenues, there has been a consistent increase in the number of attractions for tourists, along with an increase in ...

Shopping centre operators are rethinking their tenant mix, incorporating more experiences and leisure outlets to increase footfall and therefore tenant revenues. Therefore, retail is gaining wider attention amongst all foodservice channels, and ...

Limited-service restaurants saw stronger current value growth in 2019 than seen in the previous three years. Consumers seeking convenience remained the main driver of sales and growth. People want a quick bite to eat amidst their busy schedules ...

Self-service cafeterias maintained healthy although much slower current value growth in 2019. It remains a relatively small consumer foodservice channel in the United Arab Emirates, accounting for a negligible share of overall value sales. However, ...

Households in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been impacted by a new VAT regime, a declining property market and an infrastructure boost in some of the smaller emirates. The country has introduced a new Emiratis-first law, which boosts job ...

Indoor furniture will continue to dominate the home furnishing landscape, with continuous expansion of residential infrastructure, falling rental prices, and increasingly affordable living. Residents are set to upgrade their homes interior furniture,...

Gardening in the UAE offers limited potential, as the majority of the population are expats who live in rented accommodation. The category also faces the negative influence of weather conditions, as arid soil and scorching heat during the summer ...

Major home and garden specialist retailers in the UAE seeking to retain customers and offer added value for their purchases have started offering free delivery and assembly/installation services, which were previously provided at extra cost. Such ...

The UAE homewares environment continued to recover in 2019, post-introduction of VAT in 2018. During the review period consumers were discouraged from purchasing premium products and postponed purchases. Unit prices for homewares declined across many...