Dubai Duty Free has announced impressive sales figures for the month of May, totaling Dhs724.7 million (US$198.5 million). This represents a significant 12.5% increase compared to May 2024 and marks the highest monthly sales figure recorded so far this year.

May 2025 stands out as the second-highest sales month ever for Dubai Duty Free during a non-December period, following only November 2024. It ranks ninth among the all-time top 10 sales months, including December figures.

Ramesh Cidambi, the Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, commented on the growth, noting that May continued the strong growth story of 2025. He expressed particular satisfaction with the sales increase across major product categories. As of May 31, the revenue exceeded Dhs3.5 billion (US$1 billion), reflecting a year-to-date growth of nearly 6.5%. Cidambi attributed these positive results to the commitment and excellence of the entire team.

The 12.5% sales growth for May is expected to outpace passenger traffic by 7-8%, according to internal estimates from Dubai Duty Free, pending official figures from Dubai International Airport (DXB). The airport averaged approximately 242 000 passengers per day during this period. Daily sales averaged Dhs23.3 million (US$6.38 million), with key performance metrics showing that penetration rose to 28%, up from 26.3% in May 2024. Additionally, the average spend per departing passenger increased to US$46.7, which is an increase of US$3 year-on-year.

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

The fashion boutiques also performed well, achieving a 4.7% increase over May last year with sales amounting to Dhs71.3 million (US$19.5 million). Collectively, these increases contributed to over Dhs80 million (US$22 million) in additional sales compared to May 2024.

In terms of concourse performance, Concourse B in Terminal 3 led growth with a 17.5% increase, followed by Concourse D in Terminal 1 with a 10.7% rise. Concourse A saw an increase of 7.8%, while Concourse C had just under a 1% increase. Terminal 2 Departures recorded an exceptional 20.8% year-on-year growth, and Arrivals shops across all three terminals posted a combined growth of 6.25% following recent renovations.

Sales from all key passenger regions showed positive trends, with Europe up 25.9%, the Russian region up 14%, the Far East up 5.2%, the Middle East up 14%, and the Indian subcontinent up 4%, despite facing recent travel disruptions.