Across the UAE, a handful of discount department-store chains have become household names — the places everyone quietly relies on for affordable homeware, gifts, and essentials. This guide explains what makes them so popular, what to buy there, and how to get the best value.
The Big Names
Chains like Day to Day have multiple branches across the emirates — from Al Karama in Dubai to Abu Shagara and Al Qasimia in Sharjah — consistently earning strong ratings (often 4.2 to 4.5 stars) from tens of thousands of shoppers. Alongside them, the 1 To 10 and Gate 1 to 10 stores and regional centres like Everyday Center and Middle East Discount Center fill the same role: enormous range, very low prices.
Why Shoppers Love Them
- Everything in one place — gifts, kitchen, storage, toys, stationery, seasonal
- Genuinely low prices across the board
- Long opening hours, many until well past midnight
- Convenient locations in residential neighbourhoods
What to Buy — and What to Check
These stores shine for gift wrapping, decorative items, homeware, kids’ gifts, and seasonal supplies for Ramadan and Eid. As with all value shopping, inspect quality item by item: prices are low because ranges are broad, and quality varies between products. Buy the good stuff, skip the rest.
Make the Value Go Further
The smartest move is to use these stores for the basics — wrapping, boxes, cards, fillers — and spend your real budget on one nice central gift. The combination looks generous without the generous price tag. Our guide to cheap gifts under 50 AED shows the method in action.
Find the best branches by emirate in our Dubai, Sharjah, and Ajman guides, all part of our 1 to 10 shops in the UAE series.
Store details and hours change — verify before visiting. Ratings are from public Google reviews at the time of writing.
