Another successful Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) has drawn to a close with over 3220 retailers taking part in this year’s festival and shoppers heading to the malls in their droves to celebrate the 23rd edition of the shopping extravaganza.

The latest edition of DSF, which commenced on 26 December, and ran until the 27 January, saw selected malls, including Dubai Festival City, Ibn Battuta Mall and Mercato Mall, report over 10% increase in footfall, showing that despite the VAT increase, consumers were keen to take advantage of the incredible sales and retail promotions on offer throughout DSF.

The weekly Friday Surprise deal was a key contributor to weekend footfall with shoppers queuing round the block to snap up incredible bargains at a host of stores including Al Salam, Home Box and Wojooh. Back for a 5th edition, Market Outside the Box (MOTB) was another key highlight of the festival, with 123, 422 people visiting the outdoor market during its residency at Burj Park, picking up some beautiful artisanal products from independent fashion, jewellery, beauty and homeware retailers.

Not content with bagging bargains, residents and tourists to Dubai also enjoyed a stellar line up of concerts throughout DSF. Egyptian superstar Amr Diab wowed crowds at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, whilst Oscar and Grammywinning artist A R Rahman hosted at two-hour concert at Bollywood Parks Dubai featuring over 20 vocalists and musicians performing an exclusive stage production, created just for this region.

In addition to the exciting line-up of retail activities and entertainment, there were also chances to win big during DSF with AED 25million worth of prizes given away (excluding DSF Strategic Partners) throughout the festival. From cars, to cash and gold, lucky winners won life-changing prizes, including a local Emirati lady taking part in a promotion run by the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group, who scooped ¼ kilo of gold a week after her daughter got married, enabling her to buy the newly wedded couple a beautiful gift to mark the start of a prosperous life together.

Here, festival organisers Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), highlights the most popular retail events and activities from this year’s fantastic festival.

Friday Surprise – the weekly deal announced 24 hours in advance saw hundreds of shoppers queue for a chance to get their hands on the weekly bargain
Fireworks nights – celebratory fireworks at Al Seef, La Mer and The Beach opposite JBR each weekend drew huge crowds to catch the mesmerising display
MOTB – this year saw over 125 local retailers descend on Burj Park to give shoppers the opportunity to buy unique, artisanal products, such as luxury scarves, face creams and eye-catching homewear pieces
INGLOT – Beauty-lovers headed to INGLOT during DSF to get their hands on a limited edition Dubai inspired make-up palette for the lips and eyes in collaboration with local celebrity Mahira Abdelaziz
KIKO Make-up masterclass – make-up enthusiasts enjoyed a beauty masterclass with famous Kuwaiti make-up artist, Hanan Alnjadah at its Mall of the Emirates store
S*uce x Confetti - fashionistas went crazy for the S*uce and Confetti Project collaboration, snapping up the limited-edition cake and confetti inspired collection
Make it Personal with UGG  - For the ultimate winter fashion event, fashionistas were invited to the UGG store at Mall of the Emirates to take part in a workshop featuring Lady Fozaza (Alanoud Badr ) who gave styling and customisation tips
Beauty Week at Galeries Lafayette - The beauty department at Galeries Lafayette was transformed into a beauty wonderland during Beauty Week, giving shoppers the chance to try the latest products, take part in competitions, win exclusive prizes, as well meet top beauty bloggers

For the festival’s 23rd edition, DFRE was supported by strategic partners Emirates, The Dubai Mall, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, AW Rostamani Group, Al Futtaim Group (Dubai Festival City), Nakheel Malls (Ibn Battuta Mall, Dragon Mart 1, Dragon Mart 2), Dubai Duty Free, ENOC, Al Zarooni Group (Mercato), Meraas and Etisalat. Additionally, the key sponsors of DSF 2018 are Visa, Emirates NBD and Jumbo Group, and key supporters of DSF are Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group and Dubai Shopping Malls Group.