Malls in the UAE and in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are expanding their retail, dining and entertainment offerings in a bid to win shoppers, but footfall alone no longer tells the full story. How a mall is perceived before a visit is just as telling. Take a look at which malls residents intend to visit, and which has recently been the subject of more conversation.
YouGov’s UAE mall rankings 2026 uses YouGov BrandIndex data from 1st October 2025 to 30th September 2026. The analysis examines which malls residents would consider visiting, alongside how they rank on Buzz (Net).
The article explores:
- UAE’s Top 10 Malls by Consideration
- UAE’s Top 10 Malls by Buzz (Net)
- KSA’s Top 10 Malls by Consideration
- KSA’s Top 10 Malls by Buzz (Net)
Dubai Mall is the UAE’s most considered mall
Dubai Mall leads with 34.4% Consideration, followed by Mall of the Emirates at 29.8%. Then the gap widens as Dubai Festival City Mall ranks third at 20.2%, 9.5 points behind Mall of the Emirates.
City Centre Deira (19.3%) and City Centre Mirdif (17.5%) round out the top five. Rather than an evenly spaced Top 10, the result points to two leading malls and a more closely contested group behind them.
Abu Dhabi Mall (16.7%), Dubai Marina Mall (16.6%), Yas Mall (16.3%), Dubai Hills Mall (15.3%) and Ibn Battuta (14.9%) complete the top 10.
Dubai Mall leads, Majid Al Futaim malls rank high on Buzz
Dubai Mall leads at 39.6, with Mall of the Emirates close behind at 34.0. At third-placed Dubai Festival City Mall scores 22.4, and from fourth to tenth, just 2.5 points separate the pack.
One operator also stands out. Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira and City Centre Mirdif are all Majid Al Futtaim malls, giving the group three of the ten places.
The rest of the UAE's top 10 malls on Buzz (Net) are City Centre Deira (20.0), Dubai Marina Mall (19.4), Yas Mall (19.4), Abu Dhabi Mall (18.8), City Centre Mirdif (18.6), Ibn Battuta (18.6) and Dubai Hills Mall (17.5).
Al Salam is KSA’s most considered mall
Al Salam Mall leads mall Consideration at 21.9%, followed by Red Sea Mall (21.7%) and Mall of Arabia (21.0%). Just 0.9 percentage points separate the three Jeddah destinations. Al Mamlaka (Kingdom Tower), Riyadh (20.0%) and Riyadh Gallery (19.9%) also sit close to the leaders.
Aziz Mall (18.7%) ranks sixth, with Dubai Mall (17.6%) seventh. Faisaliyah Mall (16.8%), Al Rashid Mall (16.1%) and Granada Mall (15.3%) complete the top 10. Dubai Mall’s presence reflects Saudi consumers’ consideration of destinations beyond Saudi Arabia.
Al Mamlaka gains ground with Buzz
Al Salam Mall also has the highest mall Buzz (Net) score, at 19.8. But Al Mamlaka moves from fourth in Consideration to second in Buzz at 19.5, just ahead of Red Sea Mall (19.4).
Mall of Arabia (18.6) and Riyadh Gallery (17.8) remain prominent across both measures. These net scores are closely spaced: Al Salam Mall and Red Sea Mall differ by just 0.4 points.
The UAE's top malls have a more distinct lead over the remaining rankings, while the differences among KSA's leading malls are less pronounced. Across both markets, Buzz and Consideration rankings reveal differences in consumer perceptions and visit intent.
Methodology
This article draws on YouGov BrandIndex data collected in the UAE and Saudi Arabia (KSA) from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026.
Consideration measures the percentage of respondents who would consider visiting a mall the next time they are planning a visit. Buzz (Net) measures the balance of positive and negative things respondents have heard about a mall over the past two weeks. Consideration figures are shown as percentages, while Buzz (Net) is reported as a net score. Both are rounded to one decimal place.
The rankings are based on Nat Rep in each market. Minimum sample sizes are 6,468 for the UAE and 5,562 for KSA. Brands included in the analysis were tracked for at least 365 days during the current period.
The relevant YouGov BrandIndex question wording:
- Consideration: "When you are in the market next to visit, from which of the following would you consider visiting?"
- Buzz (Net): "Over the past two weeks, which of the following venues have you heard something positive or negative about?"
Disclosure: The data analysis in this article was conducted by YouGov with the assistance of AI tools.
About YouGov BrandIndex
YouGov BrandIndex is an always-on, daily brand tracking tool that measures consumer perceptions of thousands of brands across sectors and markets. BrandIndex helps marketers monitor brand health, benchmark competitors, identify audience-specific strengths and weaknesses, and understand how perceptions change over time.