Dubai is in prime place to seize the zeitgeist and prepared the ground on this new period of vogue and design as luxurious shopper expertise in an ever-changing on-line and in-store surroundings
Buying stays a key element of Dubai’s draw as a vacationer vacation spot. — File picture
As we enter one more Dubai winter season of design and vogue, what lies behind the doorways of the world’s well-known vogue homes by no means ceases to amaze and astound in equal measure. What makes the autumn and winter collections unveiled in 2022-23 so particular is the way in which these seasons are being introduced to the world, and the way shoppers can immerse themselves on the earth of excessive vogue.
Vogue and design have gone hand-in-hand with know-how and innovation for many years — with these traits serving to form and construct the trade into one of many largest on the earth, forecast to be price some $3 trillion by the top of the last decade . Whereas these numbers are really astounding, collaborations and crossovers with sport and technical put on alongside famend vogue homes have helped speed up that development.
We’ve got seen synthetic intelligence come to the forefront to reinforce and amplify the procuring expertise, gathering information on traits to assist increase gross sales and predict what the demand will likely be within the months and years forward. Stock associated steering has helped bolster the enterprise backside line, whereas chatbots have helped convey the most recent traits into the palm of our arms by way of smartphones.
In the meantime, retailers with pre-installed contact screens present an improved buyer expertise and customised product strategies. Every performs a component in constructing a strong future for the style trade to make sure its evolution continues within the years forward.
Luxurious manufacturers are the top of the trade, and whereas on-line procuring has modified the face of vogue, there’ll at all times be a spot for conventional bricks and mortar. Customer numbers at UAE malls have been up from a median of 4.1 malls visited in 2021 to 4.3 this summer time with vogue driving demand. Regional information confirmed 60 per cent of vogue was bought in bodily shops.
Ahmed Al Khaja, CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Institution.
There may be nothing fairly like slipping on the best Italian hand-made leather-based brogues or super-soft cashmere sweaters. These are experiences the web world is but to duplicate with any significance, and till they occur, the real-world expertise will stay central to what the trade goals to attain in buyer satisfaction.
Nonetheless, the growth in on-line procuring has underpinned the expansion within the supply trade, with demand pushing up high quality of providers. It’s not unusual for on-line shops to supply free supply and returns inside 100 days of buy — an possibility virtually unimaginable just a few years in the past is now commonplace and virtually anticipated by the buyer.
Improvement of a safe on-line cost infrastructure has additional emboldened shopper confidence. Tech corporations like checkout.com are quick rising as one of many market leaders, with a cloud primarily based end-to-end funds platform that serves retailers and shoppers. Safe on-line cost programs are only one cog within the wheel of recent retail however are the bedrock of business fashions.
Based on RedSeer Strategic Consulting, the share of on-line procuring within the UAE retail market is ready to achieve 20 per cent earlier than 2025 — and that pattern is barely more likely to proceed its upward trajectory because of extra common buying and common order worth. Quick vogue has been on the rise with a rising variety of platforms catering to instant new traits amongst a broad base of fashionistas and magnificence customers.
One regional trailblazer lighting the way in which within the hybrid mixture of on-line and conventional procuring traits is 6thStreet. The outlet launched its first ‘phygital’ retailer — a mixture of the digital and bodily procuring expertise at Dubai Hills Mall. It supplied a glimpse into the way forward for retail, with the flexibleness and comfort of selecting out gadgets by way of searching a pill on-line after which bodily making an attempt them on within the becoming room. With greater than 1,200 manufacturers to peruse, and a formidable response time of simply three minutes, 6thStreet laid down a marker of how the designer procuring expertise might look on a wider scale within the very close to future.
It’s a little early to counsel if this new strategy has been a convincing success, however the bravery to push new markets and adapt to frequent traits demanded from a brand new tech-savvy era is spectacular nonetheless.
Due to Dubai’s plethora of malls and increasing inhabitants — together with a major proportion of high-net-worth people — the emirate is in prime place to seize the zeitgeist and prepared the ground on this new period of vogue and design. Buying stays a key element of Dubai’s draw as a vacationer vacation spot, as every day spend by vacationers within the UAE elevated 30 per cent throughout summer time 2022, in contrast with the earlier yr. Footwear, vogue equipment and wonder have been all large winners within the sector.
One other mission setting the benchmark for the remainder of the trade to observe is the latest partnership with Majid Al Futtaim and Cisco to create the Retailer of the Future on the Mall of the Emirates. Improvement of the mall’s That Idea Retailer all through 2022 has supplied a brand new expertise for customers and proved a success for these passing by way of the huge halls of the Mall of Emirates.
Guests are transported by way of a futuristic journey of retail, projected by way of Cisco’s core portfolio of technological options. A step-up from the now commonplace retailer analytics, That Idea Retailer’s adoption of a digital show canvas, lift-and-learn know-how, the magic mirror and wonder mirror has elevated the client expertise to an unprecedented degree. Digital content material displayed on screens in-store adapt to a buyer’s view — primarily based on their gender and age to permit for a extra personalised procuring expertise.
It may not be the futuristic Minority Report world delivered to us by Tom Cruise fairly but, however digital adverts customised to our personal biometrics seem like turning into nearer to actuality – and never simply reserved to the realms of science fiction.
Ahmed Al Khaja is CEO of Dubai Festivals and Retail Institution. Views expreswed are his personal and don’t replicate the newspaper’s coverage.
