Convenience is key: insights from the Middle East consumer

2020 Global Consumer Insights Survey explores urban consumers in the Middle East and the cities they live in.

For the past eleven years, PwC has surveyed thousands of consumers across the globe every year to track their shopping behaviour, lifestyle habits and more. This year, we focused on 19,000 urban consumers in 29 countries, including 1,002 respondents in the Middle East region.

The aim of the survey was to get an in depth look at consumers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah and Cairo — to really understand where and how they shop, what their lifestyle is like and why they choose to live in their city.

The findings highlight the unique differences between the consumers in the region and the ongoing transformation that our cities are experiencing compared to global.

How resilient Middle East consumers have responded to COVID-19

Our new report is based on a Global Consumer Insights Survey COVID-19 Pulse – a snapshot survey that analyses how consumer attitudes in the region have been affected by the lockdown. It identifies key regional trends to watch in a retail landscape likely to be impacted by social distancing and other virus-suppression measures for some time to come.

Click here to read the report

 

Key findings for the Middle East

Consumers in the Middle East and globally are still shopping both in-store and on their smartphones. Interestingly, we see a revival of the tablet as the number of consumers using this shopping channel has increased by 12% in the last two years.

Question: How often do you buy products (e.g. clothes, books, electronics) using the following shopping channels?

Snapshot of my city

An in depth look at urban consumers across the Middle East

Consumers in Abu Dhabi:

  • Tend to be more cautious with their spending compared to consumers in other cities in the Middle East - almost a third plan to keep their personal spend the same in the next 12 months.
  • Favour in-store shopping more than consumers in other cities in the Middle East thanks to retailers emphasising in-store experiences and malls becoming lifestyle destinations.
  • Are frequent users of mobile payment platforms, such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet, to pay for purchases in-store. The banks and retailers have played an important role here, promoting mobile payments with rewards and most importantly focusing on the security behind the infrastructure to ease shopper’s concerns.
Question: In terms of your personal spend for the next 12 months, do you expect to:
Created with Highcharts 9.2.2Plan to keep personal spend the same in the next 12 monthsAbu Dhabi , 27 %Abu Dhabi , 27 %Dubai , 19 %Dubai , 19 %Riyadh , 20 %Riyadh , 20 %Jeddah, 24 %Jeddah, 24 %Cairo, 13 %Cairo, 13 %Global, 33 %Global, 33 %
Question: How often do you buy products (e.g. clothes, books, electronics) using the following shopping channels?
Created with Highcharts 9.2.2Prefer to shop in-storeAbu Dhabi , 58 %Abu Dhabi , 58 %Dubai , 55 %Dubai , 55 %Riyadh , 45 %Riyadh , 45 %Jeddah, 46 %Jeddah, 46 %Cairo, 47 %Cairo, 47 %Global, 47 %Global, 47 %
Question: Which of the following payment activities have you undertaken using your mobile / smartphone / wearable device when shopping in-store?
Created with Highcharts 9.2.2Paid for purchases in-store using mobile paymentAbu Dhabi , 51 %Abu Dhabi , 51 %Dubai , 48 %Dubai , 48 %Riyadh , 41 %Riyadh , 41 %Jeddah, 39 %Jeddah, 39 %Cairo, 30 %Cairo, 30 %Global, 38 %Global, 38 %

Survey methodology

We surveyed a total of 19,098 urban consumers in 29 countries, including 1,002 in the Middle East, between August and September 2019 to understand their shopping habits, lifestyle and preference for their city. In the region, we focused on five key cities: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah and Cairo.

Contact us

Norma Taki

Norma Taki

Deals Partner and Consumer Markets Leader, PwC Middle East

Tel: +971 4 304 3100

Imad Matar

Imad Matar

Transaction Services Leader, PwC Middle East

Tel: +966 (11) 211 0400 (ext 1501)

Maye  Ayoub

Maye Ayoub

Partner, PwC Middle East

Tel: +20 100 666 6240

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