Affluent spending softens globally
Luxury sales and mall footfall in Dubai and Abu Dhabi fell sharply in March amid regional conflict, while Indian households are cutting non-essential purchases as uncertainty rises. Reports cite Mall of the Emirates sales down 30–50% and Dubai Mall traffic reportedly halved, alongside Indian discretionary spending declines recorded by Economic Times. (reuters.com) (businessoffashion.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
Luxury shoppers pulled back in March in the Gulf and India, cutting into two markets that had been helping offset a wider slowdown in high-end spending. (usnews.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com) At Mall of the Emirates in Dubai, luxury sales in March fell 30 percent to 50 percent from a year earlier, while footfall dropped 15 percent, according to Reuters and a Business of Fashion report that cited Reuters. Dubai Mall, the city’s larger shopping hub, saw traffic fall about 50 percent, the reports said. (usnews.com) (businessoffashion.com) The weakness was not limited to Dubai. Reuters reported that sales at Europe’s biggest luxury brands also shrank in Abu Dhabi as the Iran conflict hit what had been the sector’s fastest-growing market. (msn.com) (fashionnetwork.com) In India, households are trimming non-essential purchases as geopolitical tension and job-market anxiety push spending toward essentials and savings. The Economic Times reported April 13 that companies are seeing weaker demand for apparel, electronics, fashion and other discretionary categories. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) (msn.com) That marks a sharper turn for luxury groups because the Gulf had been one of the few bright spots after demand cooled in China, Europe and the United States over the last three years. Reuters said the new March figures landed just as LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Kering and Hermes prepared to report quarterly sales. (msn.com) (fashionnetwork.com) The region matters enough to move earnings. Reuters reported in March that Richemont and Ermenegildo Zegna each derive about 9 percent of total sales from the Middle East, while Bernstein estimated LVMH, Kering and Prada get roughly 5 percent to 8 percent there. (marketscreener.com) (uk.investing.com) The drop is especially striking in Dubai because the city had just posted another record tourism year. Dubai welcomed 19.59 million international overnight visitors in 2025, up 5 percent from 2024, according to data reported from the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. (gulfbusiness.com) (dubaidet.gov.ae) Mall traffic can recover quickly if flights normalize and regional tensions ease, but March showed how fast affluent spending can stall when travel routes, security concerns and household confidence all deteriorate at once. (usnews.com) (economictimes.indiatimes.com)
