Dubai Duty Free Records Outstanding May Sales of Dhs724.7 Million (US$198.5 Million)

The month of May continued the positive sales momentum for Dubai Duty Free as it announced extraordinary sales of Dhs724.7 million (US$198.5 million). This marks a 12.5% increase over May 2024, and the highest monthly sales figure recorded this year.

Notably, May 2025 is the second-highest sales month ever for a non-December period, trailing only behind November 2024, and ranks ninth among the all-time top 10 sales months when including December figures.

Commenting on the May figures, Ramesh Cidambi, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free said, “May continued the strong growth story of 2025 and I am especially happy that the increase in sales was seen in many of the major categories. As of May 31st, our revenue has exceeded Dhs3.5 billion (US$1 billion), reflecting a year-to-date growth of nearly 6.5%. These positive results are a direct reflection of the commitment and excellence shown by our entire team of staff.”

The 12.5% sales growth for May is expected to outpace passenger traffic by 7-8% (based on DDF’s internal estimates and pending DXB figures), which averaged approximately 242,000 passengers per day. Daily sales averaged Dhs23.3 million (US$6.38 million), driven by strong performance metrics: penetration rose to 28% (up from 26.3% in May 2024), and average spend per departing passenger climbed to US$46.7 – an increase of US$3 year-on-year.

In May, sales growth was strong across all major product categories with Confectionery up 81% with Dhs73.9 million (US$20.2 million) sales, boosted by the continued success of “Dubai chocolate”. Perfume sales reached Dhs132.8 million (US$36.4 million) showing an almost 15% increase over the same month last year. Cosmetics were up 10.8% with Dhs35.2 million (US$9.6 million) sales, Cigarettes and Tobacco climbed 14.4% generating Dhs77.6 million (US$21.3 million) in sales. Gold sales were up 11.65%, reaching Dhs70.7 million (US$19.4 million) and Precious Jewellery saw notable 31.75% increase with sales of Dhs20.2 million (US$5.5 million). Liquor sales rose to nearly 4% to Dhs89.9 million (US$24.6 million) and Electronics recorded a 5.4% increase with Dhs41.7 million (US$11.4 million) sales.

The Fashion boutiques also performed well, recording a 4.7% increase over May last year with sales of Dhs71.3 million (US$19.5 million).

In total, these increases contributed to over Dhs80 million (US$22 million) in additional sales compared to May 2024.

Among the concourses, Concourse B in Terminal 3 led the growth with a 17.5% increase, followed by Concourse D in Terminal 1 at 10.7%, Concourse A rose by 7.8% and Concourse C by just under 1%. Terminal 2 Departures recorded an exceptional 20.8% year-on-year increase, while Arrivals shops across all three Terminals posted a combined growth of 6.25% following the completion of its renovations and refurbishment.

All key passenger regions showed positive sales with Europe up 25.9%, the Russian region up 14%, the Far East up 5.2%, Middle East up 14% and the Indian-sub continent up 4%, despite recent travel disruptions.