Retail Catchment Area and Consumer Analysis for an Upcoming Mall in Dubai, UAE

• Arabs accounted for 32% of the total sample followed by South Asians (28%) and Westerners (23%). Overall, 65% of the sample were males. Average age of the respondents equated to 36.4 with two -third of the respondents being married. Amongst those who are married,57% of the respondents had children. Average number of children equated to 1.8.
• Average monthly household income equates to AED 32,400. Average income of Emiratis interviewed equated to AED 45,900 whilst that of Westerners 39,700, both being higher than the average income. Whilst that of Arabs, South Asians and East Asians were lower than the average income. Only 7% of the respondents had a pet at their residence
• The Primary and Secondary Catchment Areas together accounted for 78% of the total interviews conducted. 81% of the respondents were employed in the private sector. Amongst Emiratis, 63% of them were employed at government departments. Overall, two-thirds of the respondents had a university degree, followed by 24% of them having a technical degree. Almost one-fourth of the respondents were business owners, whilst 36% of the respondents were employed at middle management positions, followed by 21% working at senior management positions.
• Amongst the interviewed respondents, Mall of the Emirates, The Dubai Mall and Ibn Battuta Mall are the most preferred malls for their day to day shopping. To analyze the frequency of visit to these malls, we have classified these malls based on their sizes –Super Regional Malls, Regional Malls and Community / Neighborhood Centre. The total visitation to malls (any format) per month equated to 5.3 times. On an average, community / neighborhood centers registered the highest visit frequency at 6.9 times per month, followed by 4.8 times per month for Super-Regional Malls and 4.0 times per month to Regional Malls.
• When queried about factors that demotivate to visit / shop at a particular mall, the key observations drawn out are: no specific options for entertainment (46%), problem with parking (43%), limited food options (40%), lack of promotions (36%), shortage of relevant products / concepts/ stores (34%), distance –too far from residence (33%). A total 24% of the respondents cited preference to purchase online.

Table of Content:

Retail Catchment Area Analysis

• Snapshot of Dubai Mall based retail market overview with a relevance to these locations
• Population in the trade area and its growth
• Existing Centres (analysis of 3-4 shopping malls that can be defined as competitors in the trade area)
• Positioning of the current mall supply in the vicinity
• Identification of retail gaps in trade area

Trade Area Analysis

• Site Location Maps
• Existing surrounding land uses
• Accessibility and visibility
• Proximity to relevant demand generators
• Accessibility Maps
• Site Characteristics

Consumer Research Analysis

• Age/ gender/ nationality/ income level/ family size/ size of party visiting
• How often visit for what (shopping/ eating out/ entertainment), when (weekday/ weekend), with whom?
• How much does a shopper spend? Which mall they tend to shop in
• What do they shop (fashion, electronics, food and beverage etc.); When do they shop (day of the week)
• How do they go to the shopping mall (walking, taxi, private car etc.); Satisfaction with current visit and identification of need gaps
• What would encourage more visits to the mall? Place of residence (location/ area)
• What did they do at shopping malls (activities shopping types of outlets visited, entertainment, food court)?
• What offering was most liked and why? Satisfaction with mostly visited place versus other competitors (if visited prior)
• Sources of awareness
• Family make up Information about children ages, genders, schooling levels
• Media / social media habits
• Interests / Leisure time spending
• Entertainment habits & interests (especially what they want when they visit Malls and what they would like to see in malls)
• F&B / restaurant / eating out habits & preferences

Recommendations & Conclusions

• Recommendations
• Critical success factors
• Conclusions