Retail Abu Dhabi (RAD), the industry initiative launched by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) to contribute to sector growth, has revealed remarkable results as it concludes a 12-month calendar of initiatives this February with its innovative ‘Name Your Price’ programme, which saw shoppers choose the price they wanted to pay for their most desired items.
Following Abu Dhabi’s launch of an AED 600 million fund last year to attract global events to the capital, Retail Abu Dhabi launched a calendar revolving around key retail periods and global events. For the first time in 2019, the capital hosted the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards and UFC 242: Khabib vs. Poirier, while DCT Abu Dhabi launched the first editions of Abu Dhabi Family Week and Abu Dhabi Showdown Week, encompassing events, concerts, retail campaigns and promotions developed through its Retail Abu Dhabi initiative.
During the year, Abu Dhabi hosted the Comite Colbert at Louvre Abu Dhabi with a programme that included the participation of some of the world’s biggest luxury brands as a retail initiative. The year also included a concert by Eminem as well as a spectacular New Year’s Eve celebration with Bruno Mars. These initiatives, coupled with innovative retail campaigns and special offers from more than 1,500 retailers across 22 malls in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, secured more than 1.2 million participants in Retail Abu Dhabi’s rewards programmes in 2019.
“We are proud to report that Retail Abu Dhabi has continued to expand in 2019, with seven campaigns that generated growth in spend and footfall, and benefited retailers and shoppers. These original concepts have provided a phenomenal boost for the Abu Dhabi retail market. As Abu Dhabi continues to expand its tourism offering in the coming years, likewise we will continue to provide unique shopping experiences for both residents and visitors to the UAE capital,” said Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at DCT Abu Dhabi.
As 68% of Retail Abu Dhabi’s shoppers fell within the ‘millennial’ and ‘Generation Z’ categories, a strong focus was placed on attracting a younger audience in the most recent ‘Name Your Price’ campaign. According to a study by Vision Critical, Gen Z use their smartphones 15.4 hours per week — more than any other type of device; they prefer ‘cool products’ over ‘cool experiences’; and respond to campaigns that are ‘edgy’ and ‘progressive’.
The recently concluded campaign, ‘Name Your Price’, ran from 26th December 2019 – 8th February 2020, allowing shoppers to choose the price they wanted to pay for more than 100 exclusive products hosted on a dedicated website. Using a first-of-its-kind approach, shoppers were encouraged to spend a minimum of AED 200 at participating malls to access limited aspirational items and place their offers on products such as a Macbook Pro, four Mercedez Benz cars, and a one-of-a-kind pair of Yeezy Boost 650 sneakers that were only ever produced as samples. Lucky shoppers whose offers were accepted walked away with items that included a jet ski for AED 1, a luxury watch for AED 100, an Apple iPhone for AED 799, a full home electronics bundle for AED 3,000, and a Mercedes Benz C200 Cabriolet Premium for AED 26,001.
Using digital tactics and social media at its core, Retail Abu Dhabi was able to capture a younger audience online and drive them back into the malls. Engaging more than 50 macro and micro influencers, Retail Abu Dhabi reached an audience of more than 19 million across the globe, including the UAE, United States, India, Pakistan and Ireland – the top five participating countries.
While the minimum spend required to earn a ‘deal credit’ was AED 200, data showed that the average spend per customer for the ‘Name Your Price’ campaign was AED 1,455 – illustrating a high level of disposable income among the participants. Other insights revealed as part of the ‘Name Your Price’ campaign included:
- A younger audience dominated the spending, with 60% of shoppers aged 33 and below: 27% were aged 18-24 and 33% were aged 25 – 33
- Validated shoppers represented 129 different countries
- The highest value spend for a single validated set of receipts was AED 406,000
“‘Name Your Price’ was one of DCT Abu Dhabi’s most impactful campaigns yet, to break into markets not captured before. We saw a much younger demographic of shoppers – a positive sign for the retail market,” added Al Shaiba. “Allowing them to choose the price they wanted to pay for items that can’t even be found in some stores or online was such a unique opportunity, which has reinforced the value of the millennial and Generation Z shopper.”
