DSS 2004 triggers 25 per cent rise in sales, footfall at Al Mamzar Shopping Centre

The level of sales at the mall has risen by 25 percent since the beginning of DSS 2004, and footfall has also jumped by 30 percent over the same period last year, mall officials said.

Meltem Bilvar, Marketing Manager of the Al Mamzar Shopping Centre, said DSS activities have helped the mall attract more visitors and also to showcase the mall better. The mall's participation in the ongoing Dubai Shopping Malls Group promotion, being held as part of DSS, has also triggered a flurry of activity - all the stores in the mall have reported an uptick in sales during the last nine weeks, she said.

Building on the increase in traffic generated by DSS, several mall stores have created their own promotions to tie in with DSS promotions. There is, for example, a Pick and Win promotion where all shoppers spending Dh. 100 get to pick and win from among 10,000 prizes and gift vouchers or enter a weekly draw for Acer laptop computers. Al Mamzar Shopping Centre is also hosting a number of children's activities, including a 'Summer Feast Day' for more than 30 children from the Rashid Pediatric Therapy Centre will be welcomed and feted by the mall's Kiddie Land entertainment centre and the Mado Emirates Café. Kiddie Land is also offering free ride coupons to children visiting Modhesh Fun City.

The bulk of Al Mamzar Shopping Centre's clientele are UAE nationals, followed by Arab expatriates, Iranians and Europeans, she added.

"DSS is a great platform to encourage more visitors to the malls, and judging by its increasing popularity, we expect that it will soon achieve the status of the Dubai Shopping Festival," Bilvar said. "We have always seen better results with the onset of DSS, and they remain stable until the end of August."

Dubai Summer Surprises 2004 is currently in the Back-2-School Surprises week organised by the Department of Economic Development from August 12-18 and ends with the Colour Surprises by the Department of Health and Medical Services from August 19-27, 2004.