Malls in Dubai Open 24 Hours : The Good and The Bad

do you like the idea of shopping malls open 24 hours a day?

yes, millions of dubai shoppers will be able to flock the malls 24 hours a day, during these 3 consecutive weekends around hari raya haji. wanna start shopping for groceries at 1am? hungry at 4am? thinking of looking for a nice dress at 3am? the mall is open 24 hours – for 3 weekends, starting from 18th oct to 2nd nov.

rise, night of the living shoppers!

 

shot courtesy of kak marliza : thanks!

 

 

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I’m weighing the good and the bad of malls opening 24 hours for these 3 weekends :

the good :

• this idea is appealing for people who work long hours during the day, facing traffic going home that there would be no time to shop at night, and on weekends mall would be too crowded during the day. they would love the idea of shopping after midnight
• people who works in shifts sometimes finished work at 3am, can catch a quick bite or still be able to walk around in the mall at that time
• this also benefits travellers/tourist in transit at the airport – they can escape boredom to the nearest mall
• last-minute shoppers on eve of raya would appreciate the malls being open past midnight
• coincidentally at the time of writing, I am waiting for mr khairul to come back from malaysia. he is scheduled to arrive home at 11am. tomorrow, he needs to leave home at about 1pm to catch a flight to cairo. he told me, having malls open past midnight is the perfect time right now, as we could still go out to stock up the fridge after he comes home tonight!
• to encourage people to visit the malls after midnight, a lot of stores are offering past-midnight discounts eg: if you bought an item around 10pm – 6am, you’ll get a 30% discount as opposed to only 10% when you buy during normal hour!
• of course this means that you simply CAN go ANYTIME you want. ANYTIME of the day!

 

the bad :

• people sleep at night. the idea of shopping after midnight is just not normal. who is really gonna go out in the middle of 3am to look for shoes?
• isn’t 10am to 11pm long enough to shop? malls are open all day long, all week long – what’s so important to get, that you HAD to go out after midnight to get it?
• family with kids might not want to stress their kids’ bedtime by dragging them to go shopping way past midnight
• nearly 7 malls around dubai opened 24 hours? more electricity wasted
• tired staff forced to work extra hours may affect their performance in attending customers – kang banyak pulak staff buat muka seposen kan!

 

in addition, a good friend of mine in dubai wrote this in as her facebook status :

Dubai- sempena Eidul Adha ni, shopping center dibenarkan buka 24 jam dari 18 Okt-2 Nov..byk tarikan..jualan murah, pertunjukan sarkis, kraf utk kanak2, cabutan bertuah termasuk yg x pnah terfikir akan dibuat masa perayaan yg suci & penuh pengajaran mengenai PENGORBANAN ni..

kalau bershopping setakat keperluan okla, masalahnya bila bercampuraduk dgn unsur maksiat & pembaziran, umat Islam kena berhati2...wallahuaklam

nauzubillah..moga tidak terkeliru dan terkorban apalagi dlm 10 hari terbaik ini, amin

(dubai – in conjunction with eidul adha, shopping center will open 24 hours from 18th oct – 2nd nov..lots of attractions..sales, circus acts, crafts for kids, lucky draw, including activities that we wouldn’t think of will be held during this holy festival & full of lessons in SACRIFICE..

if we were shopping as needed it’s ok, the problem is when it’s mixed with immoral activities and wastage, Muslims need to be wary…wallahualam.

nauzubillah..may we not be confused and be sacrificed especially in these best 10 days…amin)

 

she has a point! well said, kak muna!

in addition to feeling overwhelmed by this 24-hour chance to shop, we must never get carried away with all the festivities and shop-till-we-drop 24-hour. keep our mind on the focus of this day – eid al-adha – to honor the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismail, for the sake of Allah. sacrifice, in the name of Allah. an act of obedience to Allah. a remembrance of that honorable virtue.

may we never go astray.

 

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though I agree with kak muna’s point of view, mr khairul and i do find this 24-hour thing merely a CONVENIENCE – making it easy for us to go to the mall at anytime without wondering whether it’s already closing time.

well, we actually tried it last weekend.

you see – mr. khairul had just arrived from malaysia at 11pm that night, and we had only a few hours before he needs to rest because he’s flying out again to cairo the very next day at 1pm! so we just took the chance to roam the malls at 1am to stock the fridge before he travel again, had supper at california pizza kitchen, and started grocery shopping.

believe me, dubai people do come out to shop at 3am. the crowd at mall of emirates looked like it’s just 8pm. seriously.

also interesting to note, the staff at california pizza kitchen was just as friendly, despite having to work extra hours way past midnight. kudos to the female staff. I wish I had taken her name! she was in great spirit, all smiles and recommended us yummy dishes to try. hope all the other workers during this ‘past-midnight shift’ are able to face the crowd with smiles and positivity!

 

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so, use the 24-hour shopping time for your convenience, but don’t forget the real meaning and spirit of eid al-adha!