The concept of shopping malls is fairly new in Sharjah, although several malls have opened during 2001 and early 2002. Many large showrooms as well as small centers are dotted around the city selling various products.

By 2005, Sharjah is expected to rank third after Dubai and Doha in terms of shopping center space per capita at around 13 sq.ft., per person - overtaking even Abu Dhabi, according to a study by a UK based organization.

The survey said Sharjah shopping centers will be creating a total of about 355,000 square meters of Gross Leaseable Area within three years.

Sharjah's new shopping malls include the 500,000 sq. ft. Dh 400 million Sahara Center, 400,000 sq. ft. Sharjah Mega Mall and Majid Al Futtaim's City Center. The survey said however, time will tell whether Sharjah can sustain occupancy of these malls without having to attract shoppers from outside the emirate. The test will be on whether Sharjah malls can outperform well entrenched malls in Dubai,' the study said.