The online shopping sector in the UAE has really upped its game over the past few years, with more and more stores now allowing customers to order online. However, we still lag behind e-commerce in the US, where online sales amounted to about $350 billion (Dh1.285 trillion) in 2019.
Emirates is hoping to let customers take advantage of that shopping scene by giving frequent flyers the chance to sign up for a free Emirates Delivers membership.
The Dubai airline invites Skywards Members to sign up for a virtual address in Florida as part of its e-commerce delivery platform that was started by the freight division of Emirates.
This address can be used as a place to get US goods delivered to, similar to the Shop and Ship courier service that operates in 80 countries around the world.
To get your Emirates Delivers Florida address, customers can sign up here. Then, all you need to do is use your unique address as your shipping destination when shopping from US retailers.
You’ll also get 30 days free storage at your address in Sarasota, so you can order from several stores and send all the packages to the UAE in one shipment. Collating packages from several retailers into one box reduces both the weight and cost of your shipments.
The airline operated twice weekly Emirates Delivers flights to Dubai from Florida throughout August to catch up on delays due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Standard shipping times are three to five business days and Skywards members can save up to 15 per cent on standard shipping rates.
Packages of all shapes and sizes can be shipped, but the minimum charge is Dh47 – the price to ship 1 kilogram of freight. Emirates Delivers says shipping rates decrease as shipment weight increases, so essentially, the more you buy the less you pay.
Restricted goods
While customers are able to shop from any US store, Emirates Delivers reminds customers that some items cannot be shipped to the UAE. These include agricultural items, dangerous goods, certain medicine and cosmetics. Other items that aren’t banned, but are trickier to ship include battery packs, items in pressurised containers, foodstuffs and televisions. Ordering these goods may cost you more and they may take longer to arrive.
It’s also not a good idea to pay to have your items gift-wrapped from US retailers, as all parcels ordered online will be opened by agents working for Emirates Delivers. This is to check that the correct goods have been received and to confirm that the shipment can legally be transported to the UAE.
The pandemic led to an increase in online shopping. Emirates Delivers recorded a 20 per cent increase in shipments from the US in April this year. The most popular packages were medicine, supplements, toys, fashion and sporting goods.
Read more about the coronavirus
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
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- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
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Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
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Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950
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Gearbox Eight-speed automatic
Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
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- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
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Only Yesterday (1991)
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Results:
6.30pm: Mazrat Al Ruwayah (PA) | Group 2 | US$55,000 (Dirt) | 1,600 metres
Winner: AF Al Sajanjle, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
7.05pm: Meydan Sprint (TB) | Group 2 | $250,000 (Turf) | 1,000m
Winner: Blue Point, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
7.40pm: Firebreak Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (D) | 1,600m
Winner: Muntazah, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
8.15pm: Meydan Trophy Conditions (TB) | $100,000 (T) | 1,900m
Winner: Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
8.50pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) | $250,000 (T) | 1,800m
Winner: Poetic Charm, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | $135,000 (D) | 1,200m
Winner: Lava Spin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) | $175,000 (T) | 2,410m
Winner: Mountain Hunter, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
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It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
