Visa spend up by 12% in first two weeks of DSF

Dubai — According to statistics issued recently by Visa, the global leader in electronic payments and official partner of Dubai’s leading retail event, the total Visa card spend in the first two weeks of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2015, between January 1 to January 15 had risen by 12 per cent compared to the same period of DSF 2014.

The results were collected by the company’s payment processing platform, VisaNet, and include spend by both international visitors to the UAE and the country’s residents during DSF, which this year marked its 20th anniversary.

In terms of total spending growth (international and domestic), restaurants were among the top categories at 31 per cent, with Visa cardholders spending $53.7 million this year, up from the $40.9 million recorded in the same category at DSF 2014. Other high-growth categories include consumer electronics at 22 per cent and supermarkets at 14 per cent, with transaction volumes rising from $30.5 million to $37.2 million and from $107.6 million to $122.2 million, respectively.

Fashion retail ranked first in spending volumes, accounting for $151.2 million of total international and domestic spending in the first two weeks of DSF 2015.

Visitors from Saudi Arabia and the UK once again emerged as the top spenders in the first two weeks of the 2015 festival, contributing $35.18 million and $29.98 million, respectively, to the UAE economy. This is up from $27.29 million and $27.74 million spent during the same sale period last year.

Visa cardholders from Angola saw the biggest percentage increase in spending with a total of $28.47 million spent in the first two weeks, registering a 97 per cent growth in transaction volume over the previous year.

At a regional level, visitors from Middle Eastern and North African nations remain strong users of their Visa payment cards and spent a total of $96.75 million during the first half of DSF. This was followed by Europe at $72.69 million and Sub-Saharan Africa at $54.36 million.

Marcello Baricordi, general manager for UAE and global accounts lead at Visa Mena, said: “DSF 2015 has delivered promising results, with the rise in spending indicative of the phenomenal impact the event has on the economy. This demonstrates the enduring popularity of the world’s longest-running festival of its kind as it celebrated its milestone 20th anniversary. One very interesting trend for this year has been to see the growing affluence of emerging markets in the Sub-Saharan region such as Angola that has almost doubled its spend on Visa cards in the first two weeks of DSF 2015, compared to the same period last year.”

Marking the 20-year celebration edition of DSF — “Journey of Celebrations” — Visa also rolled out its “Shop, Spin and Win” promotion from January 12 to 25, which gave thousands of visitors and residents the chance to enhance their shopping experiences by transacting with Visa.

Visa has been a key sponsor of the region’s leading shopping and entertainment event since its inception in 1996.