Dining and flexible opening hours are reshaping how people in Dubai use shopping malls, according to a Nielsen-backed survey commissioned by Al Ghurair Centre that tracked the habits of more than 750 visitors.

The study found that 97 per cent of respondents now cite food and beverage as a key reason for visiting malls, putting dining on par with retail and grocery shopping as a primary draw.

The report said food halls offering varied cuisines and price points in shared social settings are gaining traction.

Evenings remain peak hours, with 76 per cent of visits taking place between 5 pm and midnight.

About 32 per cent of those surveyed visit at least once a week, shifting mall use from weekend family trips toward weekday, post-work or post-school stops for meals, errands and leisure.

Dubai Mall survey reveals that an average visit can last four hours

Average visits now last up to four hours, covering between two and seven outlets, with shoppers buying up to five items per trip.

The survey said this points to a move away from task-specific trips toward multi-purpose visits combining shopping, dining and leisure.

People aged 25 to 34 – described as “Zillennials,” a crossover of Generation Z and Millennials – made up 46 per cent of visitors.

Within that group, 23 per cent said they visit malls alone, and 56 per cent learn about them through word of mouth, compared with 45 per cent via Instagram and 32 per cent via Facebook.

The findings suggest malls in the UAE are evolving into what the study called “living extensions” of the communities they serve, blending shopping with dining, entertainment and everyday errands to maintain relevance amid changing consumer behaviour.

Read: Dubai launches ‘Mallathon’ to turn malls into summer fitness hubs

du, UAE’s telecom and digital services provider, has announced the successful deployment of 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology on its live network, making it the first operator in the region and positioning the UAE as the first country to roll out this next-generation capability. The milestone, achieved in collaboration with Huawei, underscores du’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge innovations that enhance customer experience and advance national digital ambitions.

As part of its strategic roadmap, du first envisioned and initiated the concept of the 64T64R Dual Band Active Antenna Unit (AAU) operating in the 3.7 GHz (N78) and 2.6 GHz (N41) spectrum bands. This world-first unit has now been deployed on du’s live network, offering enhanced capacity, improved coverage, and greater spectrum efficiency. The technology integrates hardware functions, boosts performance, and optimizes spectrum use, all while significantly reducing power consumption and carbon emissions.

“5G-Advanced is a monumental leap forward for du and the UAE’s telecom sector. This milestone reflects our ongoing efforts to deliver world-class connectivity and support the nation’s vision to be a global technology leader. It also reaffirms our focus on building a green, sustainable network for the future,” said Saleem AlBlooshi, chief technology officer at du.

Felix Liu, chief of UAE carrier business at Huawei, added: “Huawei is privileged to be part of 5G-Advanced network construction together with du. We have been continuously engaged with our customers to understand network needs and provide tailored solutions which can bring business success. Huawei’s 5G Dual Band AAU is another flagship solution which offers outclass network performance and customer experience and is in line with UAE’s sustainability goals.”

Benefits

The 5G-Advanced deployment delivers notable benefits for both consumers and enterprises. End-users will experience ultra-fast data speeds suitable for 8K video streaming and real-time conferencing, expanded coverage in remote areas, and ultra-low latency for mission-critical applications such as autonomous driving and smart city infrastructure. For enterprises, the network supports massive IoT deployments and large-scale digital services, while its energy-efficient dual-band design aligns with du’s net-zero sustainability targets.

Technically, the network has achieved a peak data rate of approximately 5.4Gbps, with average data rates improving by up to 33 per cent. The solution also strengthens cell-edge performance and uplink speeds, leveraging Massive MIMO and enhanced spectrum aggregation to set new benchmarks for mobile network capabilities in the UAE.

Read: du reports 25.1% year-on-year rise in Q2 net profit

Beyond speed and coverage, du’s 5G-Advanced network lays the groundwork for the future, enabling intelligent automation, ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine-type communication (mMTC). These capabilities are critical for powering connected industries, smart cities, and a fully digitized society.

This deployment forms part of du’s broader strategy to lead the evolution of 5G and beyond, working closely with global technology partners and local regulators to keep the UAE at the forefront of global digital transformation.

As Gulf nations accelerate their economic diversification efforts, nurturing and scaling research-driven start-ups has become a vital benchmark for regional innovation leadership. The Gulf’s innovation engines are gaining speed – but moving from momentum to measurable global leadership now depends on making sharper, more targeted interventions. From how early-stage capital is deployed to how talent is sourced and retained, the next phase of policy and investment will define the region’s long-term competitiveness.

R&D start-ups play a pivotal role in creating transformative technologies and new market opportunities across sectors such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, clean energy, and agri-technology. These start-ups, with their extended development cycles and substantial initial investment requirements, have the potential to significantly enhance regional competitiveness and economic resilience. Their success hinges upon dedicated financial support, robust infrastructure, strong intellectual property frameworks, and access to highly skilled talent pools.

Recent data underscores the impressive growth trajectory of the GCC innovation landscape. According to StartupBlink’s latest ecosystem rankings, the UAE advanced notably to the 23rd position globally, while Qatar made significant progress from 90th to 79th. Despite this positive momentum, Bahrain has declined from 60th to 67th, highlighting uneven regional development. These variances point to a crucial need for more uniform, strategic actions across the entire region.

The ambition is real. In the UAE, emerging companies such as Pure Harvest Smart Farms are tackling food security challenges through high-tech indoor farming suited for desert climates using automation and refrigeration tech. Their successes include winning the Gulf region’s ‘Product of the Year 2023’ for its controlled environment agriculture technology, an award presented by NielsonIQ. They have also managed to raised funding from Franklin Templeton, Olayan Group, and Shorooq Partners.

While overall venture capital (VC) investment across the GCC surged dramatically from $248m in 2019 to more than $3.6bn in 2023, and this growth remains heavily concentrated in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which together captured approximately 92 per cent of total VC funding. This funding imbalance underscores a significant challenge: early-stage, research-intensive start-ups outside these primary markets often struggle to secure essential seed-stage investments. In Saudi Arabia, for example, early-stage funding reached $251m in 2023, compared to $1.45bn in late-stage funding. In the UAE, average seed funding hovers around $1.1m per round, insufficient for deep-tech ventures that require higher upfront investment.

Moreover, inconsistent intellectual property enforcement and administrative barriers pose additional hurdles, causing many regional innovators to seek patent protections internationally rather than locally. If not swiftly rectified, this fragmented regulatory environment risks undermining the Gulf’s long-term innovation potential.

Infrastructure investments across the Gulf are commendable, with prominent hubs such as KAUST in Saudi Arabia, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), and Masdar City in the UAE leading regional R&D initiatives. Nevertheless, limited access to specialised facilities for prototyping and commercialisation remains a significant bottleneck. To amplify their impact, these innovation hubs must be better interconnected, fostering regional cooperation and knowledge sharing.

Perhaps the most critical gap is the availability of skilled talent. The UAE currently leads the region, ranked 17th globally in IMD’s 2024 World Talent Ranking. However, other GCC countries trail considerably behind—Qatar ranks 42nd, and Bahrain ranks 40th. The region is expected to require 90,000 highly skilled professionals by 2026, especially in deep-tech and R&D-intensive sectors. These talent disparities, if not urgently addressed, could severely limit the growth of industries reliant on specialised expertise.

Encouragingly, national agendas signal intent. Saudi Arabia has set a target to allocate 2.5 per cent of its GDP to R&D by 2040, while Qatar aims to double its research and development expenditure by 2030. These goals are bold—but to achieve them, policy reforms and ecosystem coordination must accelerate.

Global innovation leaders such as Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom offer clear lessons for the GCC. Each has successfully built integrated ecosystems through strategic public-private partnerships, unified regulatory policies, targeted early-stage financial support, and robust talent attraction initiatives. Gulf countries should leverage these insights to strengthen their ecosystems, ensuring they are not merely participants but competitive leaders in the global innovation economy.

To achieve their ambitious goals, GCC nations must swiftly recalibrate their strategies, prioritising robust early-stage funding, cohesive regulatory reforms, infrastructure integration, and comprehensive talent development programs. The region has a rare window of momentum—what happens next will determine whether the Gulf becomes a destination for frontier innovation, or simply a marketplace for ideas built elsewhere.

Dubai Municipality has rolled out a new smart application, Eltizam, designed to give selected government officials the power to detect and record public cleanliness violations, part of the city’s push to maintain its position as the world’s cleanest city.

The app grants judicial officer status to authorised personnel, enabling them to take photos, tag locations automatically and add notes when documenting breaches of regulations.

The initiative targets offences, from spitting in public areas and improper disposal of chewing gum to dumping waste in the sea and lighting fires in unauthorised places.

A milestone in Dubai Municipality’s digital transformation plans, Eltizam aims to strengthen regulatory enforcement while promoting shared responsibility between officials and residents for urban aesthetics, public health and environmental sustainability.

Eltizam launch key to making Dubai ‘the most beautiful and cleanest city in the world’

“The launch of Eltizam is a key step in Dubai Municipality’s mission to enhance the city’s cleanliness, sustainability, and quality of life,” said Engineer Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, DG of Dubai Municipality. “By empowering authorised officials with judicial enforcement tools, we are fostering a culture of responsibility and social engagement. This app reflects our vision of a pioneering city where technology and regulation work together to protect Dubai’s urban appeal and elevate its position as the most beautiful and cleanest city in the world.”

Bin Ghalita said public cleanliness was “not a technical issue alone — it is a civic value and a shared commitment,” adding that Eltizam underscored the role of both officials and citizens in shaping “a sustainable, liveable Dubai for generations to come.”

The first phase of the app’s rollout will focus on eight specific violations deemed harmful to the city’s image, including littering, draining vehicle wash water in undesignated areas, posting unapproved flyers, and failing to remove animal waste from public spaces.

Based on Dubai Law No (19) of 2024, which regulates judicial officer status in the emirate, the platform is intended to deliver faster enforcement, clearer compliance processes and increased community engagement.

For businesses, particularly those in tourism, retail and real estate, the initiative signals a strengthening of Dubai’s regulatory framework for public spaces, an element seen as critical to maintaining the city’s brand and investment appeal.

8 key ‘cleanliness’ violations

• Spitting in public areas
• Disposing of chewing gum improperly
• Littering in public spaces
• Dumping organic or general waste into the sea, beaches, creeks, or ports
• Draining vehicle wash water in non-designated areas
• Lighting fires or barbecuing in unauthorised places
• Posting flyers, advertisements, or printed materials that deface public areas
• Failing to remove animal waste from public spaces

Read: From waste oil to renewable biodiesel: Details on Dubai Municipality, BiOD’s new MoU

The UAE’s rapidly expanding PropTech sector is emerging as a critical driver of the nation’s ambition to be a global hub for innovation, real estate, and smart urban living. By adopting advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), the country is enhancing efficiency, transparency, and customer experience across the real estate value chain.

Valued at Dhs2.24bn in 2024, the UAE’s PropTech market is projected to nearly triple to Dhs5.69bn by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.49 per cent, according to insights from market research firm Research and Markets. This growth is being fuelled by the widespread use of digital solutions to streamline property development, management, transactions, and investments, while also cutting costs.

In the construction sector, VR and AR are proving transformative—enabling smarter, faster, and more efficient project delivery. These technologies are improving design accuracy, reducing errors, and boosting collaboration, making them especially valuable in the UAE’s high-value, fast-paced development environment. They also enhance safety, productivity, and client engagement, offering a competitive edge for developers.

Read: Dubai PropTech Hub launches at DIFC Innovation Hub

Australian-headquartered Lifesize Plans, a global leader in life-sized architectural projections, recognised the UAE’s strong PropTech and construction momentum and entered the market in 2023. The company’s technology allows stakeholders to experience architectural blueprints at a true 1:1 scale during the pre-construction stage, enabling more informed decision-making and greater project certainty—an approach well-suited to the local development landscape.

“From immersive Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) walkthroughs to AI-driven analytics, these new technologies are redefining how real estate is bought, sold, and built in the UAE. As the country continues to push the boundaries of innovation and prove to be one of the top investment options for expatriates from all over the world, PropTech is quickly becoming a cornerstone of the market’s long-term resilience and global competitiveness,” said Georges Calas, CEO of Lifesize Plans Dubai.

With the UAE’s focus on smart, sustainable development, PropTech adoption is set to accelerate further—optimising construction workflows, improving customer engagement, enhancing investment decision-making, and benefiting from sustained government backing and investor confidence. The sector’s evolution is reshaping the future of real estate in the Emirates.