Online shopping just got easier as Emirates offers customers free US shipping address

The airline operated two Emirates Delivers flights per week from Florida to Dubai in August

Emirates Delivers is part of the freight division of Emirates that offers shoppers in the UAE a virtual address in the US for shipments.

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.