Emiratis spend three times more than the average shopper at London Heathrow airport

Each UAE national spends in excess of Dh,20,000 per visit ... and 40 per cent of them were men.

A Bvlgari shop at Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport in London. Neil Hall / Reuters

UAE nationals spend three times more than the average customer on personal shopping services at London Heathrow – splashing out an average of Dh20,215 per visit.

Some 25,555 UAE nationals bought top fashion brands under the guidance of Heathrow’s personal shoppers in the past year, according to data released by the airport.

They represented almost half of the 55,600 people who used the service in the past year.

And 40 per cent of them were men.

But the spending spree comes at a worrying time for the global luxury goods sector, which has been hit hard by declining spending in China, Hong Kong and Russia and weakening tourist activity.

Emirati customers spent an average of £3,400 per visit, compared to £1,200 for the typical personal shopping customer.

“On average, each customer from the UAE visits us twice a year, spending in excess of two hours in a style consultation within our private suites,” said Dana Jaber, a style expert for Heathrow’s Personal Shopping service

“Our Emirati customers are particularly interested in the likes of Burberry, Smythson, Paul Smith and Jo Malone.”

Emiratis also outspent shoppers from other Arabian Gulf nations by a considerable margin, according to the data.

Qataris were the second highest spenders with an average shopping basket worth Dh7,134 and the Saudis with Dh6,879.

More than 80 per cent of personal shopping customers use the service to spend their value-added tax refunds before they fly home.

The buoyant sales figures come amid profit warnings from the luxury goods sector, in which the Middle East is expected to be a rare bright spot for the industry this year.

Worldwide luxury goods sales are expected to grow at their slowest pace in five years, Bain & Company said.

Global sales of personal luxury goods are expected to increase by about 2 per cent this year to €223 billion (Dh1.03 trillion), the slowest pace since 2009.

Britain’s Burberry Group yesterday warned that wholesale revenue would decline in the second half.

At the same time Mulberry, the handbag maker, cut its profit forecast for the third time in a year, citing a drop in tourist shoppers.

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