UAE ranked world’s third-biggest spender on F&B

UAE residents spend about Dh68 on food per mall visit, placing the country behind Norway and Sweden, research from the property advisor CBRE showed.

Shoppers dine at the food court at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Satish Kumar / The National

DUBAI // Next time you’re in your favourite mall, keep tabs on how much you spend on food and drink.

Chances are you’ll be fork out almost Dh70 – more on average than mall hoppers in any other part of the world, apart from the Norwegians and Swedes.

Property consultancy CBRE has ranked UAE shoppers third in the world for mall food and drink, spending Dh68 each visit.

Two thirds of the UAE respondents to its survey say the food on offer greatly influences the choice of which mall they visit.

But Sergio Lopez, who recently opened Common Grounds cafe in the new extension of Dubai’s Mall of the Emirate, says business is not as good as he had hoped.

“Mall of the Emirates is a tourist destination and the Russians aren’t there any more and the Chinese have stopped coming, so that is a huge swath of people missing from the mall,” Mr Lopez said.

“Rents are high but we are willing to wait it out and see if the tide turns.”

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