UAE’s Majid Al Futtaim launches Mall of the Metaverse

Majid Al Futtaim has announced the launch of the Mall of the Metaverse.

The announcement was made along the sidelines of the World Government Summit.

The mall is in the initial phase of development as the group looks “closely” at customers’ needs and expectations.

After multiple stages of testing, Dubai’s first virtual mall will open to visitors “who are seeking increased digital experiences across retail, entertainment and leisure offerings.” a statement said.

Inside the mall, customers’ avatars will find Carrefour, VOX Cinemas, THAT Concept Store, Ghawali and Samsung Store, “with many more brands and exciting features in the pipeline”.

Khalifa bin Braik, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Asset Management, said the Mall of the Metaverse would be a leading retail and entertainment destination — “and surely a huge attraction for customers who crave digital experiences from their most loved brands”.

Fatima Zada, director of Omnichannels and Digital, Majid Al Futtaim Shopping Malls, highlighted how there has been an increased demand for digital experiences in the last few years.

“We work to leverage behavioural science and data to deliver customers what they want and desire. Our swift consumer observations, followed by an action plan and a series of testing stages, has now led to a fully-fledged project that is a step ahead of online shopping — Mall of the Metaverse.”

Meanwhile, the UAE has made several advancements in the metaverse. In November 2022, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and Chairman of Dubai’s Higher Committee of Future Technology Development and Digital Economy, approved the new phase of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy.

The strategy aims to enhance the digital economy and implement measures to empower the use of the metaverse and future technologies.

Read: Sheikh Hamdan approves new phase of Dubai Metaverse Strategy

The initiatives also seek to build the skills of talented Emiratis and create a large metaverse community in Dubai that includes metaverse companies, startups, investors and users.

The initiatives also include strategic projects featuring partnerships with private sector players and events aimed at making Dubai a hub for regional and global metaverse-related events.