Middle East consumers are one of leading spenders on luxury goods and they are the tenth highest spenders in the world according to Goldstein research analysis.
In the Middle East especially in GCC countries (Gulf Cooperation Council), 70% of consumers claim to have increased their spending over luxury goods compared to 53% in more mature markets such as United States, Europe and Japan.
And in the past few years there was significant expansion in Middle East luxury goods industry with major companies around the world have expanded their brand distribution in the region and opened new stores.
It has been forecasted that the Middle East luxury goods market to expand at CAGR of 8.1% during the period between 2017-2030 according to Goldstein Market Intelligence analyst. And in GCC alone the luxury goods market in 2018 worth 35$ Billion and expected to reach sales worth of 54$ Billion by 2024.
Geographically
the largest luxury goods market share in middle East in 2017 was accounted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with over 35% of the market share.
In a region made affluent from strong oil production and exports, GCC economies have experienced strong economic growth over the past decades, less depending on oil and diversifying their resources backed with strong tourism in the region. Catalysed by rising affluence levels, spending on luxury products has been witnessing a continuous growth. The region has also witnessed strong population growth over the last five years resulting in a large young population
The major drive in Middle East luxury goods market is the high disposable income of people in the region especially in GCC countries, whereas according to statistictimes, Qatar came on top of the list with highest Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per capita in the world, UAE and Kuwait ranked 8th and 9th on the world respectively and Saudi Arabia on 16th
Where countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE have the largest population and large number of tourists that augmented the growth of luxury goods industry in the region.
Latest Global Blue report state that visitors from The United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the list of biggest international (non EU) spenders in London with shoppers spending an average of 2,074 pounds per transaction between Jan and Oct 2018, followed by Qatari clients with spending an average of 1,964 pounds per transaction.
Demographically:
The region has strong growth population with more than half of the Middle East population are under the age of thirty with the highest internet penetration and time spent on social media more than the global average.
Another major driver of the luxury market in the region is the increasing penetration of ecommerce and social media. The online market continues to drive the sales of luxury products as boundaries blur with the more traditional distribution channels. Social media platforms such as youtube, facebook, instagram, whatsapp, etc. are also influencing consumers, particularly the younger generation. Moreover, the tourism sector of the GCC region has also been expanding in nations like the UAE which has further broadened the growth prospects for luxury goods.
According to statica, UAE has the highest social network penetration in the world with 99% of the population
While Kuwait and Qatar has the highest internet penetration in the world with 99.6% while Bahrain and UAE cam on 7th and 8th respectively a report by Internetworldstats
At DLM, we developed a great understanding of affluent Arabic consumer and we help you put your product or service in reach for those affluent consumers throughout their online journey.