Phuket's shopping ranges from large air-conditioned malls to sprawling night markets.
Malls
Central Phuket (split across two connected wings) is the island's main mall complex, with international and local retail brands, a cinema and food courts — a reliable option on a rainy day.
Markets
The Sunday Walking Street market in Old Phuket Town and various rotating night markets around the island are better for souvenirs, local crafts and street food than mall shopping.
Souvenirs worth buying
Local batik and woodcarving, Thai spices and dried goods, and cashew nuts (a Phuket agricultural product) are common, genuinely local picks — as opposed to mass-produced souvenirs sold identically across every Thai tourist destination.
Bargaining
Expected at markets and with tuk-tuk/taxi fares not already fixed, but not at malls or fixed-price shops.
Where craft shopping is best
Old Phuket Town's shophouse-lined streets hold the highest concentration of independent craft, art and homeware shops on the island, generally better browsing than the malls for anything you actually want to keep rather than gift.
Duty-free and electronics
Phuket has duty-free shopping at the airport and a couple of dedicated duty-free complexes — worth comparing prices against home before assuming duty-free is automatically cheaper, since it isn't always.