Across UAE SME merchants on the Fortis network, we saw one thing that 81 per cent of customers visit once and never return.
The UAE’s loyalty market is booming, reaching $490.8 million in 2025 to a projected reach of $817.6 million by 2029. It is one of the fastest-expanding segments in the region’s retail economy. Loyalty programmes are increasingly digitised, with mobile apps, digital wallets, and online platforms becoming central to their design.
Yet walk into most small restaurants, cafés, or independent retailers across Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and you will find something conspicuously absent: a loyalty programme that works.
The scale gap tells part of the story. The Shukran loyalty pla
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