Value for money was a gift-buying priority for 80% of UAE respondents in Mastercard’s Consumer Shopper Snapshot 2025, released on December 18. The Harris Poll survey covered more than 4,000 adults across four markets, including over 1,000 in the UAE.

The UAE findings show shoppers combining channels and planning around promotions: 74% timed purchases for major sale days, 90% turned to physical stores and 87% bought gifts through ecommerce marketplaces. Mastercard’s Gina Petersen-Skyrme, SVP and Country Manager for the UAE and Oman, described earlier planning and more deliberate spending as themes in the results.

AI, resale and social-commerce shopping

AI featured in holiday preparation, with 61% using it to help with purchases and 57% relying on it for gift recommendations. The survey also found that 47% watched YouTube or social-media reviews and demonstrations during shopping research.

Resale and social commerce were part of that mix. Seventy-one percent said they regularly thrift-shopped, 63% trusted social commerce more than previously and 51% trusted influencer recommendations more than those of friends.

Respondents described excitement and connection among their holiday-shopping emotions. Most also admitted buying gifts for themselves while shopping for others, with specialty foods, fashion accessories and beauty products among the categories discussed.

The findings provide retailers with the surveyed consumers’ reported preferences and habits during the 2025 holiday period. Mastercard, which describes its payment network as operating across more than 200 countries and territories, published them as part of its consumer research.