Saudi Arabia

Consumer electronic is seeing variable recovery in 2023, after the dip in sales the former year due to the heightened demand for personal electronics during the era of COVID-19, thus resulting in a following organic decline due to saturation. Majorly…

Consumer appliances is seeing steady overall volume and value growth in Saudi Arabia, supported by ongoing urbanisation in the Kingdom. This is further supported by strong inbound tourism and the growth of various industries in Saudi Arabia, in line…

Sales of energy drinks continue to decline in off-trade volume terms. Energy drinks incur a 100% “sin tax” in Saudi Arabia, while there are also other initiatives and restrictions aimed at discouraging the consumption of such products with the…

Other personal lending continues to be an area of interest in Saudi Arabia, as this category primarily constitutes personal loans taken for medical purposes and travelling. This has been particularly prominent since the end of pandemic restrictions…

Bread remains a key area of staple foods in Saudi Arabia with it being the largest category in both retail volume and current value terms. Bread accompanies many meals and therefore sales are not generally significantly impacted by factors such as…

After a surge in demand for dairy products and associated packaging in 2020 due to pandemic-related home seclusion, retail unit volume sales somewhat normalised the following year as restrictions started to ease and local consumers began to spend…

E-readers continue to struggle as demand is practically non-existent. The device fails to gain consumer’s interest over the popularity of ubiquitous smartphones and tablets, through which consumers can also access e-books. Added to which, the…

Apparel accessories remains in both value and volume slumps in 2023, albeit improving upon the sharper drops seen in 2022. We can attribute this to a normalisation effect following the atypical patterns seen during the era of the pandemic. Notably,…

As leisure and entertainment are on the rise in Saudi Arabia, including dining out, more people are facing digestive problems. Furthermore, during the holy month of Ramadan, more people experience digestive disorders such as bloating, heartburn, acid…

Interest in domestic travel continues to grow at an extraordinary rate, with the number of domestic trips more than doubling between 2019 and 2023. Domestic tourism is rapidly growing in popularity driven by the government’s efforts to highlight and…

Growth for digital cameras and camcorders continues its downward trajectory, owing to the mass consumer preference for smartphone cameras, coupled with continuous technology upgrades in the newer models of digital cameras pushing up prices.…

RTD tea is a relatively niche category in Saudi Arabia with it being the smallest soft drinks category in retail volume terms in 2023. Nonetheless, the category has continued to post strong growth both through the off- and on-trade channels. The…

Credit cards are not as popular as debit cards in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however, the category still shows a fair performance. One main issue which credit cards face in the KSA is a question mark around their compliance with Sharia Law.…

The re-opening of schools has had a major impact on the recovery of many packaged food categories, with other dairy products being amongst them. The return to schools was a major factor in the recovery of chilled dairy desserts, in particular, as…

Modern daily life is leading consumers to spend a significant amount of time in front of their phone and computer screens. This abundance of screen time has led to a greater proportion of the population developing eye health problems, be it eye…

Players appear to be focussing on OLED TVs, with a number of launches from well-known names in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including from brands Samsung, LG, and Haier. Samsung (represented by United Matbouli Group in the KSA) is the leading brand…

Robotic vacuum cleaners are starting to gain relevance in Saudi Arabia, seeing growing volume sales following a sluggish and/or negative performance over the review period. This is attributed to ongoing economic developments in the Kingdom, with…

Bottled water remains by far the largest category of soft drinks in Saudi Arabia with increasing numbers of consumers switching to bottled water. Although tap water in the Kingdom is said to be safe to drink many people prefer to use bottled water,…

The offer of and demand for healthier snacks continued to grow significantly during 2022, in line with rising health consciousness amongst consumers. The COVID-19 pandemic raised consumers’ awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles, including…

COVID-19 led to a strong rise in the growth rate for sleep aids, as the stresses and pressures of the pandemic boosted demand for these products. In addition to the fear of falling ill, many Saudi consumers also faced economic uncertainty and nagging…