Dubai Mall leads both of YouGov’s key mall performance measures in the UAE, pulling ahead of a large field that grows considerably tighter beyond the top three.
The findings come from YouGov’s BrandIndex data, covering the 12-month period from October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026. The research tracks two distinct metrics: Consideration, measuring residents’ likelihood of visiting a given mall, and Buzz (Net), which captures the balance of positive against negative sentiment around each brand.
On Consideration, Dubai Mall scored 34.4 per cent, with Mall of the Emirates second at 29.8 per cent. Dubai Festival City Mall ranked third at 20.2 per cent, trailing Mall of the Emirates by 9.6 percentage points. City Centre Deira (19.3 per cent) and City Centre Mirdif (17.5 per cent) completed the top five.
The remaining top-ten positions went to Abu Dhabi Mall (16.7 per cent), Dubai Marina Mall (16.6 per cent), Yas Mall (16.3 per cent), Dubai Hills Mall (15.3 per cent) and Ibn Battuta (14.9 per cent).
The Buzz rankings tell a similar story at the top. Dubai Mall scored 39.6, Mall of the Emirates 34.0, and Dubai Festival City Mall 22.4. Below third place, the field compressed sharply: just 2.5 points separated the malls ranked fourth through tenth, pointing to a dense cluster of destinations competing for positive sentiment.
One operator stands out across both rankings. Majid Al Futtaim places three malls in the UAE’s top-ten Buzz list: Mall of the Emirates, City Centre Deira and City Centre Mirdif.
