The UAE’s retail sector has always been dynamic, but in recent years, one trend has stood out above the rest: the rapid rise of coupon culture. What was once a niche habit has become a mainstream shopping strategy, with more consumers actively seeking deals, stacking offers, and timing purchases to maximize savings.

At GC Coupons, we have a front-row seat to this transformation. Using data from one of our partner networks, covering sales generated between January 2023 and July 2025, we can see how discount-driven shopping is changing consumer behavior across categories. In this period alone, GC Coupons drove over AED 5.31 million in sales for 70+ retailers — and that’s just from one network.

In this article, we’ll break down the numbers, highlight key trends, and explore how shoppers are embracing coupons as part of their everyday retail journey.

Data Overview: The Numbers Behind UAE Coupon Culture

Before diving into category trends, it’s important to understand the scale of coupon-driven retail in the UAE.

Total Sales (Jan 2023 – Jul 2025): AED 5.31M

Number of Retailers Covered: 70+

Categories Tracked: Fashion, Electronics, Home & Furniture, Beauty, Grocery, Baby & Kids, Travel, and Other

Category Share of Total Sales

From our partner network data, Electronics and Home emerged as major revenue drivers, with Fashion, Beauty, and Baby & Kids also playing significant roles.

Year-on-Year Growth

  • 2023: AED 1.02M

  • 2024: AED 0.77M (-24.2% YoY) — possibly due to post-event sale cycles and economic cooling

  • 2025 (Jan–Jul): AED 3.53M (+357.8% YoY) — a sharp rebound showing coupon adoption is accelerating

The spike in 2025 clearly shows that UAE shoppers are now more engaged with deal-hunting than ever.

Fashion: Style Meets Smart Shopping

Fashion has always been one of the most coupon-friendly categories in the UAE. From seasonal sales to influencer promo codes, the space is built for deal hunters.

Between January 2023 and Jul 2025, Fashion generated over AED 134K in tracked sales. Seasonal peaks were observed during Ramadan, Eid, and the Dubai Shopping Festival.

Top Fashion Retailers (Partner Data)

Shoppers in the UAE are increasingly combining coupon discounts with in-store pickup or free delivery, which adds even more value.

Electronics: The Big-Ticket Coupon Champions

Electronics is one of the highest-value categories for coupon use, largely due to high average order values.

From our data, Electronics accounted for over AED 569K in tracked sales — led by heavyweights like Noon Coupons, Sharaf DG, Jumbo Electronics, Huawei, Samsung, and Dyson.

Key shopping peaks were tied to:

  • Ramadan flash sales

  • Back-to-school laptop promotions

  • New smartphone launches

In Electronics, coupons are often combined with Buy Now, Pay Later services for maximum affordability.

Home & Furniture: Comfort and Savings

The Home category — including furniture, décor, and kitchenware — accounted for AED 254K in tracked sales.

Top-performing retailers include:

  • Home Box

  • Home Centre

  • IKEA

  • Danube Home

  • Pottery Barn

  • CB2

  • Crate & Barrel

  • West Elm

Shoppers in this category often wait for seasonal clearance sales, such as post-Ramadan and end-of-year events, before using coupons to bring down already discounted prices.

Read: Is Tabby the Future? 

Read: How to avail free delivery in the UAE? 

Read: Guide to UAE’s Seasonal Sales 

Beauty & Personal Care: Everyday Essentials with a Discount

Beauty is a consistent performer in coupon usage. With brands regularly releasing new collections, promotions are frequent and competitive.

Beauty Sales

Partner data shows strong performance from:

  • Faces

  • Sephora

  • The Body Shop

  • Bath & Body Works

Ramadan and the holiday season are especially strong sales periods, with bundles and gift sets driving higher basket sizes.

Grocery: Free Delivery Meets Discounts

Though grocery margins are lower, the category still saw over AED 16K in tracked sales.

Top retailers:

  • Carrefour

  • Lulu Hypermarket

  • Instashop

  • NowNow

Coupons here are often linked to free delivery thresholds, which shoppers use strategically to avoid fees.

Baby & Kids: Family Savings

Baby & Kids accounted for AED 102K in tracked sales, driven by both essentials and gifting.

Top retailers:

  • Mumzworld

  • Toys R Us

  • FirstCry

Back-to-school season and UAE National Day saw the highest engagement.

Travel: Niche but Valuable

While Travel was the smallest category in the dataset, it still showed consistent seasonal spikes, mainly around summer and Eid holidays.

Top travel retailers:

  • Rayna Tours

  • Cleartrip

  • Booking.com

  • Agoda

Travel coupons are often tied to package deals and flight discounts.

Other: The Miscellaneous Powerhouse

Interestingly, the “Other” category — a mix of smaller or uncategorized retailers — dominated total sales at AED 4.24M. This shows that coupon culture extends beyond mainstream categories.

Seasonal Shopping Behavior in the UAE

Looking at monthly sales patterns across all categories, some trends stand out:

  • Ramadan & Eid: Big spikes in Fashion, Beauty, and Grocery

  • Dubai Shopping Festival: January sales surge

  • Back-to-School: Boost for Electronics and Baby & Kids

  • End-of-Year Sales: Strong across Home, Fashion, and Electronics

Why This Matters for UAE Retail

The data proves that coupon-driven shopping is no longer a niche activity. UAE shoppers:

  • Plan purchases around coupon availability

  • Stack offers with payment plan services

  • Expect free delivery and bonus perks alongside discounts

For retailers, this means coupon strategies aren’t optional — they’re essential to compete.

GC Coupons’ Role in the UAE’s Coupon Culture

As a trusted platform with over 400 retailer partnerships, GC Coupons plays a pivotal role in connecting shoppers to verified, working coupon codes. Retailers like Noon, Max Fashion, Level Shoes, and 6th Street feature exclusive offers that can’t be found elsewhere.

Our platform ensures:

  • All codes are tested and valid

  • Offers are tailored to the UAE market

  • Shoppers can save both online and in-store

Conclusion: Coupons Are Now Core to UAE Shopping

From the data, one thing is clear: coupons are no longer a “nice to have” — they are central to the UAE’s retail culture. With strong growth in 2025 and active participation across 70+ retailers, coupon adoption is set to grow even further.

And with GC Coupons continuing to bring shoppers exclusive, verified deals, the future of UAE coupon culture looks brighter — and more affordable — than ever.