Oman Retail Industry Market Insights and Growth Forecasts

HUSSAIN K. JAMAL, CSM, CLS

Head, Mall Operation Mall of Muscat MECS+R Regional Representative – Oman

Nestled on the edge of the Arabian Peninsula the Sultanate of Oman is an exotic destination filled with incredible attractions and cities. No wonder it has been recently declared the seventh-best tourist destination in the world due to various factors such as environmental richness, biodiversity, and the unique nature of its reserves. The Retail Sector in Oman has its roots, like many of its contemporaries in the Souqs and Markets along the coastline and harbours which were major trading hubs for businessmen, this trend continued up until the late 80s when the first of the many new shopping malls such as Sabco Centre (Qurum) came into play. The coming decade brings more much smaller centres cropped up throughout the city such as Al Araimi Centre and Zakher Centre. In the Early 2000’s, the country witnessed the opening of big format Shopping Centres such as City Centre Muscat followed by centres namely Muscat Grand Mall, City Centre Qurum, Markaz Al Bahja, Avenues Mall, Oasis Malls and Al Araimi Boulevard. Fast Forward to 2019 and the country witnessed the opening of a landmark luxurious destination centre, Mall of Muscat, which embodied the future of shopping malls. With a clear distinction in lifestyle, leisure and entertainment components including the only public aquarium in the country, ‘Oman Aquarium’. And then came COVID-19 which dealt a devastating blow to the retail industry due to the crippling restrictions on the business which was needed to curtail the spread of the disease.

As of today, the retail real estate market in Oman has emerged from the crisis quite strongly with some positive news and developments. Notably, the opening of Mall of Oman in September 2021, has provided a shot in the arm to the retail industry once again bringing world-class retail brands to the market boosting both the retail offerings and at the same time offering employment opportunities to the local workforce. Salalah, on the other hand, witnessed the opening of Salalah Grand Mall complementing the existing shopping malls in this major city in the Dhofar Region. The last quarter of 2021 witnessed the resurgence of mainstream marketing and customer engagement activities done by shopping malls. Oman Avenues Mall launched its Mobile App and Loyalty Programs which were heavily promoted. Another major mainstream marketing campaign was conducted by Mall of Muscat for its 2 months long, salesdriven marketing promotion “Winter Festival” which was promoted utilizing ATL, BTL & TTL marketing tactics and was quite successful in elevating the sentiments of the public in general. The year 2022 started with the announcement of the Most Trusted Brand Awards conducted by Apex Media which was adjudicated through public voting in which about 800,000 people participated. The awards recognized businesses across all sectors which had received the public’s trust, while Carrefour received the award in the Hypermarket category, Mall of Muscat won the prestigious award in the Shopping Mall category. With regards to new developments in the country, IKEA is expected to open in June 2022 at Avenues Mall bringing the much-loved brand to the capital city. Moreover, all shopping malls are doing their bit to entice customers to their mall during Ramadan & Eid such as the Mall of Muscat Festival, celebrating its 3rd Anniversary, Ramadan & Eid through a unique digital instant Spin & Win Promotion, Fun Activities for Kids and Ramadan Night Market. The months ahead look promising for the country’s retail business with all major shopping malls witnessing significant improvements in customer footfall as customers returned to their normal shopping habits after a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 restrictions. There is hope and optimism that the positive momentum generated will be sustained and will continue to improve as we move towards the succeeding months.