By Sima Barazi, Founder of Boom & Mellow

When I first entered retail in Dubai 24 years ago, part of the role of a multi-brand retailer was giving customers access to designers and products they simply couldn’t find here. Today, the situation is almost the opposite. Consumers can access virtually anything, anywhere, at any time.

I believe that has made curation more important, not less. There is simply too much chatter. Between social media, global e-commerce, marketplaces, influencers and fast fashion, we are constantly being shown something new. More choice sounds like a good thing, but at a certain point it becomes overwhelming. The role of a good retailer today is no longer simply to offer products; it is to filter through that noise and help customers discover what is genuinely worth their attention.

We’ve all had the experience of seeing something online that looks fantastic, ordering it impulsively and being disappointed when it arrives. The colour isn’t what you expected, the fabric feels completely different, the quality isn’t there or the piece simply doesn’t look like the photograph. Fast fashion has made experimentation incredibly accessible, but it has also contributed to a culture of constant consumption and disposability.

At Boom & Mellow, our concept store in Dubai, every product has already gone through a filter before it reaches the customer. Whether I am looking at fashion, accessories, fine jewellery or gifts, I am considering the quality, creativity, design and individuality of a piece, but also whether its price makes sense for what it is. Expensive does not necessarily mean overpriced, just as inexpensive does not necessarily mean good value. Materials, craftsmanship, originality and design all have to justify the price.

After more than two decades of buying, much of that judgment becomes instinctive. I genuinely believe some people naturally have an eye for aesthetics and trends, although experience, travel and exposure refine it enormously. Part of the pleasure of being a curator is discovering a designer before everyone is talking about them and recognising that there is something special there. We brought so many brands, including Sarah’s Bag, Alexis Bittar and Kismet by Milka, to our customers early in their journeys, and that sense of discovery remains one of my favourite parts of retail.

But curation isn’t only about predicting the next trend. It is about knowing your customer.

That human relationship has become even more valuable in a digital world. Our customers can walk into our boutique in Dubai, see and touch something, try it on and understand its quality. But that same relationship now continues digitally. Customers WhatsApp us looking for an outfit, a piece of jewellery or a gift; we send photographs and suggestions, help them narrow down the options, send a payment link and can often deliver within Dubai within three hours.

In a way, the modern boutique has become a personal filter. A customer doesn’t necessarily need another website showing her 5,000 options. Sometimes she needs someone whose taste she trusts to show her five. This is particularly true with gifting: often a customer comes to us without knowing exactly what she wants, and part of our role is helping her discover it.

For me, particularly in the last few years, curation has also become about more than aesthetics. Increasingly, it is about purpose.

As a female founder, I am particularly proud that the overwhelming majority of the designers and entrepreneurs represented at Boom & Mellow are women. This wasn’t created as a marketing strategy; it evolved organically through the brands and stories I was drawn to. Over the years, I’ve met extraordinary women who have built independent businesses around their creativity, often while balancing many other responsibilities in their lives.

We also consciously seek out brands whose impact extends beyond the finished product. Through purpose-led brands such as Sarah’s Bag and Inaash, traditional embroidery and craftsmanship can provide work and economic opportunities for women while preserving skills that might otherwise disappear. We also look for products with sustainable or circular elements, because increasingly customers want to understand not only what they are buying, but who made it, how it was made and what their purchase supports.

As a woman, mother and entrepreneur myself, those stories resonate with me. I opened Tiger Lily while pregnant with my first son and Boom & Mellow in Mall of the Emirates while pregnant with my second. Motherhood and entrepreneurship have therefore been intertwined throughout my journey. Building businesses while raising three children taught me to prioritise, adapt and, perhaps most importantly, trust my instincts.

Retail has changed enormously since I began. Trends move faster, customers are more informed and technology has removed almost every geographical barrier to shopping. But I don’t believe technology can replace the human instinct, experience and personal connection that sit at the heart of good curation. The most meaningful choices are rarely made by data alone; they are shaped by context, trust and an understanding of what will make something matter to a particular person.

An algorithm can show us more of what we already like. A great curator can introduce us to something we didn’t even know we were looking for – and, sometimes, to a designer, story or object that stays with us for years.

That, to me, is why curation matters more than ever. In a world overflowing with choice, the future of retail isn’t necessarily about offering customers more. It is about offering them meaning, confidence and the pleasure of being understood. Technology can organise what exists, but only human curation can recognise what is truly worth discovering.

 By Eddy Nemri, Vice President at Object 1

Dubai closed the first half of 2026 with roughly AED 420 billion in real estate transactions across more than 112,000 deals, a pace that puts the year on track to beat 2025’s record. Heading into 2026, the consensus among analysts and developers was that this momentum would deepen rather than plateau. Six months on, the numbers back that up, and in several areas the market has moved faster than most predictions anticipated. Here’s how each widely-forecast trend is actually playing out.

Abu Dhabi’s Breakout Is Confirmed, Not Just Forecast
 Abu Dhabi was widely tipped as the next investor hot spot. It has arrived ahead of schedule: property sales reached AED 84.5 billion in H1 2026, up 174% year-on-year and putting the emirate on course for a record year. Al Reem Island led on sales volume, Hudayriyat Island led on value, and together with Yas Island and Saadiyat Island the four districts accounted for roughly two-thirds of both deals and value in the emirate. Off-plan sales dominated activity, and repeat sales prices climbed double digits for both apartments and villas — evidence that this is broad-based demand, not a single-project spike.

Tokenization Has Moved From Pilot to Live Market
 Of everything flagged industry-wide at the start of the year, this trend has advanced the furthest. What was a concept in most outlooks is now operational infrastructure: the Dubai Land Department’s tokenization pilot closed out its first phase in February 2026 and opened a regulated secondary market for the tokens issued during it. VARA has since published formal guidance clarifying how tokenized property is regulated as a security at the federal level — the framework younger, cost-conscious buyers need to trust the model is now in place, not just promised. The long-range projection stands: tokenized assets could represent close to 7% of Dubai’s real estate transactions by 2033.

Hybrid Living Keeps Reshaping What Buildings Need to Offer
 The shift toward co-working lounges, private meeting pods and serious digital infrastructure inside residential buildings has held steady through the first half of the year. Hybrid work remains structurally embedded in the UAE’s working patterns, and mixed-use communities built around the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan’s people-centric principles continue to outperform standard apartment stock on occupancy.

Smart Technology Is No Longer a Differentiator — It’s the Baseline
 This trend has accelerated faster than the “becoming standard” framing most predictions used at the end of 2025. Automated systems, data-driven design and energy optimization are now table stakes in new launches rather than a selling point layered on top. The projects gaining the most attention in 2026 are the ones pairing that technical intelligence with genuinely human-centred design, not the ones leading with specs alone.

Connectivity Is Already Repricing Neighbourhoods

The Dubai Metro Blue Line has gone from groundbreaking to visible construction: tunnelling is underway, excavation milestones have been hit ahead of pace, and the RTA has the line on track for roughly 30% completion by the end of 2026, with opening set for September 2029. The RTA’s own modelling points to property values near stations rising by up to 25%, and early anticipation is already visible along parts of the corridor, well before a single station opens.

Wellness Remains a Non-Negotiable, Not a Trend
 Buyer priorities haven’t shifted here — clean air, natural light, communal space and access to active living are still deciding factors, and biophilic design continues to move from amenity to expectation across new developments.

Regulation Has Tightened Exactly as Predicted
 Oversight has strengthened on schedule. At the federal level, the Securities and Commodities Authority was reconstituted as the Capital Markets Authority on 1 January 2026 under new decree-laws, adding a clearer national layer to how capital markets — including tokenized real estate — are supervised. Dubai’s RERA and Abu Dhabi’s regulatory bodies have continued tightening escrow, disclosure and developer-accountability standards alongside it, reinforcing the market’s stability story for global investors.

Where This Leaves the Rest of 2026
 Halfway through the year, the story isn’t “will these trends materialize” — it’s how quickly they have. The developers who benefit most through year-end will be the ones who’ve already built for this market rather than the one the industry was forecasting for twelve months ago.

According to a recent skills report, 59% of quantity surveying and construction professionals identified advanced digital tools as the most important skill for the future.

Construction has always relied on practical experience: understanding how projects are delivered, spotting risks early and knowing when something on site is not right. These skills remain essential, but as digital tools become more embedded across the industry, the way construction teams work is changing.

As a digital platform working with construction teams around the world, PlanRadar has identified six skills that are becoming increasingly important on the modern jobsite, helping professionals work more efficiently and adapt as construction becomes more digital.

1. Creating clear digital project records

Good documentation is more than taking a photo or writing a quick note. Site information should clearly show what happened, where it happened, who is responsible and what action is needed. This makes it easier for contractors to respond and for reviewers to confirm that work has been completed correctly.

A 2023 case study found that introducing structured digital quality-control documentation reduced supervisors’ documentation workload by 80–90%. Standardised data entry also improved the accuracy and usability of inspection records. Clear, organised information also provides a stronger foundation for future automation and AI.

2. Coordinating digital workflows

Construction professionals increasingly need to understand how information moves through a project, not just how to use individual tools. An inspection, Request for Information (RFI) or approval should have a clear path, showing who starts it, what information is needed, who reviews it and when it must be escalated.

This matters because delays in these workflows can have a real impact. A PlanRadar study of 1,728 construction professionals found that one in four respondents said delayed approvals typically add more than a month to project timelines. Clear digital workflows help teams keep responsibilities visible, reduce missed actions and move decisions forward faster.

3. Working confidently with digital drawings and BIM

Construction professionals do not need to be BIM specialists, but they should be able to navigate digital drawings, understand revisions and connect site issues to the correct location. This is becoming increasingly important in the UAE as Dubai continues to digitise building processes.

Through its BIM platform, Dubai Municipality allows consultants to upload IFC models and automatically check them against Dubai BIM Standards and selected building regulations.

As these processes become more sophisticated, these skills will become more important on site. Professionals who can confidently use digital models will be better placed to connect design information with actual site conditions.

4. Capturing useful visual evidence

Visual documentation is becoming a more important part of how construction teams track progress, and communicate site conditions. Professionals need to know what should be captured, when it should be recorded and how images can support later decisions.

A UAE case study at Expo City Dubai saw a contractor use 360-degree reality capture across 28 buildings, creating around 180 captures of the project. The visual record helped teams monitor progress, identify issues and improve reporting. Used effectively, visual evidence gives teams a clearer record of site conditions and makes progress easier to review without relying solely on repeated physical inspections.

5. Building practical data literacy

Construction teams generate large amounts of information daily. The skill is knowing how to read that information and identify what actually needs attention.

Professionals should be able to spot recurring quality issues, overdue actions, approval delays and differences in performance across teams or locations. They also need to understand when a number is useful and when it needs more context.

This does not mean every project manager needs to become a data specialist. It means being able to ask the right questions, check the information behind a result and use project data to support better decisions.

6. Using AI with professional judgement

A 2025 RICS survey of more than 2,200 construction professionals found that 46% identified a lack of skilled personnel as one of the main barriers to AI adoption. As AI becomes more common in construction, professionals will therefore need more than basic awareness of the technology.

They should understand where AI can support routine work, how to question its output and when professional verification is required. AI can organise information, identify patterns and summarise records, but decisions involving safety, contracts or technical responsibility still require human judgement.

Digital skills are becoming part of everyday construction, but the pace of technological change means professionals cannot be expected to master every new tool. What the industry needs instead are curious, adaptable people who are willing to keep learning, question how technology is used and apply it in ways that improve project delivery.