Dubai Duty Free Sets August 2025 Sales Record

Dubai Duty Free has announced a remarkable achievement for August 2025, setting a new sales record that highlights its ongoing success as one of the world’s leading airport retailers. The retailer reported total sales of AED646.23 million (US$177 million) for the month, marking the highest-ever sales recorded in August.

This new milestone surpasses the previous peak achieved in August 2018, when Dubai Duty Free recorded AED588.13 million (US$161 million) in sales. This represents a significant increase of nearly 10%, reflecting strong growth and solid customer engagement.

Year-on-Year Growth

Comparing August 2025 with August 2024, Dubai Duty Free achieved an impressive 15% increase, as last year’s sales stood at AED561.53 million (US$153.84 million). On average, sales during August 2025 reached AED20.8 million (US$5.70 million) per day, with an estimated 275,000 passengers passing through the airport each day during the same period.

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Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, expressed his delight over the results. He said, “It is a great sales achievement and August’s record adds to the impressive streak of records set earlier this year in January, February, April, May, and July. I am particularly pleased that, based on our internal daily tracking, sales have outpaced passenger growth by about 9%—a remarkable achievement that highlights the outstanding efforts of the entire team.”

This shows that the airport retailer is not only attracting more passengers but also encouraging them to spend more during their visits. The average spend per passenger increased by nearly US$4, and the penetration rate was higher than in August 2024 by at least half a percentage point.

Year-to-Date Performance

Building on August’s success, Dubai Duty Free’s year-to-date (YTD) sales now total AED5.4 billion (US$1.48 billion). This is a 6.93% increase over the same period last year. The strong performance is attributed to Dubai Duty Free’s diversified product range and premium retail experience, which continue to attract travelers from all over the world.

Category Highlights

The growth in August was broad-based, with many categories performing strongly. The top performing category was Confectionery, which saw a remarkable 68.90% increase in sales compared to last August.

Other major categories also showed strong growth:

• Gold: up 28.55%

• Perfumes: up 13.13%

• Cigarettes & Tobacco: up 11.05%

• Millennium Millionaire Tickets: up 33.70%

• Watches: up 17.70%

• Precious Jewellery: up 24.17%

• Cosmetics: up 8.91%

• Liquor: up nearly 3%

• Electronics: up 2.34%

When considering the Top 10 categories, they recorded a combined growth of 15%. Even if Confectionery is excluded, the Top 10 categories still grew by 10.44%, demonstrating strong and balanced growth across multiple product ranges.

Luxury Boutiques Performance

Dubai Duty Free’s luxury boutiques remain a key pillar of its success. In August, fashion boutiques located in Terminal 3’s Concourse A and Concourse B saw sales increase by 10.86% compared to August 2024. Among all luxury brands, Cartier performed exceptionally well with 29.33% growth over the same month last year.

The average number of daily transactions in the boutiques rose to 254, compared to 237 in August 2024. At the same time, the average transaction value increased to AED8,004, up from AED7,748 in August 2024. This growth in both transaction volume and value highlights the strong momentum in the luxury segment, which accounts for almost 10% of total sales.

Performance by Location

Dubai Duty Free also recorded strong performance across all major airport locations:

• Concourses A and B: sales up 17% each

• Concourse C: sales up 16.45%

• Concourse D: sales up 7.91%

• Terminal 2 Departures: sales up 13.60%

• Al Maktoum International Airport (AMIA): sales soared 56.91%

The Arrivals Shops also showed strong growth, with an 11.72% increase in sales, despite rising competition in Terminal 3 Arrivals.

Growth Across Regions

Dubai Duty Free’s sales growth was supported by travelers from all major regions:

• U.S.: up 27.94%

• Middle East: up 19.78%

• Indian Subcontinent: up 17%

• Africa: up 15.28%

• Europe: up 13.46%

• Australasia: up 9.49%

• Far East: up 9.15%

• Russia: up 3.26%

These figures reflect Dubai Duty Free’s global reach and the diverse customer base visiting Dubai airports.

Future Outlook

Looking forward, Dubai Duty Free is planning to further enhance its retail offerings, particularly in luxury fashion. A new Louis Vuitton boutique and a Cartier boutique are set to open in Concourse A in September.

Ramesh Cidambi explained, “The new Louis Vuitton boutique in Concourse A is expected to open later this week and will significantly elevate the fashion offering in Concourse A, complemented by the anticipated launch of the Cartier boutique in the same concourse by the end of September.”

In addition, refurbishment work is ongoing in Concourse A, which will introduce a new ‘Gifts from Dubai’ concept store by December. This store aims to offer visitors a curated collection of local products and souvenirs, further enhancing the shopping experience at Dubai airports.

August 2025 has been a record-breaking month for Dubai Duty Free, demonstrating strong growth across all product categories, luxury boutiques, and key airport locations. With innovative retail offerings, global customer engagement, and continuous expansion, Dubai Duty Free continues to set new standards in airport retail.

The combination of high passenger traffic, increased spending per passenger, and premium retail experiences has made Dubai Duty Free a benchmark in airport retail worldwide. As the retailer prepares for new boutique openings and concept stores, the outlook for the remaining months of 2025 remains highly promising.

Dubai Duty Free’s success story is a clear example of vision, strategy, and commitment to excellence, reinforcing Dubai’s reputation as a global hub for shopping and luxury experiences.

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