A recent report issued Thursday said that the higher spending and an increase in services will help the UAE's retail sector grow by more than a tenth annually until 2013, in spite of the ongoing concerns about when the global economic recession will end. 

As per the predictions of Research firm RNCOS, the UAE's retail sector will grow 12 percent a year. RNCOS had said back in June that it expects the Middle East's retail sector to hike 14 percent a year.

However, it should be noted that the forecast by the report is extremely opposite to the falling sales figures witnessed by number of retailers and worries about the impact of an oversupply of retail space, especially in the once- booming Dubai.

In 2008, a growth by 7.4% was seen in the UAE's economy and economist hold the viewpoint that 2009 could be flat, with growth returning slowly next year.

As per the report by RNCOS, Gulf state acquired fourth rank in the most attractive destinations for retail after India, Russia and China.

"The UAE's popularity stemmed from a number of contributing factors, including its rapid economic growth, rising purchasing power and growing consumer spending," said the report.