Consumer spending power in both UAE and Saudi Arabia remains strong despite concerns about the global macroeconomic environment. This is according to local research by global management consulting firm, Kearney, exploring consumer sentiment and purchasing habits.
In the UAE, 88% of those surveyed highlighted concerns about global market volatility and rising inflation, and 83% noted an increase in the prices of goods purchased over the last three months.
Price increases were felt most in food and beverage (85%), transport including gas prices (77%), restaurants and hotels (72%), clothing and footwear (70%), and electronics (68%). However, despite concerns and noticeable price hikes, consumers do not expect their spending to be impacted with over half (56%) planning on making a major household purchase (AED 1,000+) in the next six months.
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Online purchasing remains a popular channel for UAE shoppers, mainly due to the ease of purchase (66%), saving money (62%), variety (51%), and ease of delivery (48%). When it comes to shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, the importance of the in-store experience and convenience increased by 36% and 26% respectively, compared to 2021.
In Saudi, 79% of those surveyed highlighted concerns about global market volatility and rising inflation, and 72% noted an increase in the prices of goods purchased over the last three months.
Price increases were felt most in food and beverage (76%), restaurants and hotels (67%), clothing and footwear (63%), electronics (61%), and transport including gas prices (57%). However, despite concerns and noticeable price hikes, consumers do not expect their spending to be impacted with almost half (46%) planning on making a major household purchase (SAR 1,000+) in the next six months.
“Spending on non-essential items in KSA has increased compared to 2021 (11%) reinforcing this, and we anticipate that this trend will continue into the new year,” commented Debashish Mukherjee, Partner, Kearney Middle East.
Online purchasing remains a popular channel for KSA shoppers, mainly due to the ease of purchase (74%), saving money (58%), variety (51%), and ease of delivery (49%). When it comes to shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, the importance of the in-store experience and convenience increased by 36% and 26% respectively, compared to 2021.
