Profiting From Consumer Mega-Trends in the Middle East: Comfort

Introduction

The Comfort mega-trend is driven by demands for safety, escapism, simplicity and tradition among consumers in the Middle East region. In many ways, the Sensory versus Comfort mega-trend trade-off represents the problems associated with balancing a desire for new experiences and change with desires for stability and familiarity.

Scope

• Detailed trend analysis outlining what constitutes 'value' for consumers (trends are, after all, a reflection of what's important to consumers)
• Offers Middle East focused insights, benchmarked against global sentiment, to cater for contextualized regional-specific information needs
• Covers all major FMCG sectors, but also with applicability to wider consumer goods audiences
• Specifically covers the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Highlights

Good trend-watching is about taking the bigger-picture approach. Adopting a broader global perspective to trend-tracking facilitates better decision making by overcoming 'category myopia'. Monitoring the broader FMCG environment will enable bigger picture learning that can be applied more specifically

A considerable 'trust void' is apparent in the KSA and UAE when it comes to commercial enterprises in general and the specifics of the products they produce and market. Datamonitor research has found that consumers across the region do not automatically accept stated product claims

Only a minority of consumers in the KSA and UAE stated that they found food products and ingredients imported from other countries to be either 'trustworthy' or 'very trustworthy'. Given that the majority of consumers are predisposed to distrust foreign ingredients, this is a significant proportion of the market to potentially lose out on

Reasons to Purchase

• Understand the significance of the different Comfort-aligned trends across FMCG sectors to help support market diversification plans
• Gain region specific consumer insight, including a clear and up-to-date framework for understanding Asia Pacific consumers
• Access data from primary research to increase the likelihood of being 'on-trend' with NPD and marketing in the KSA and UAE

Table of contents

INTRODUCTION: THE IMPORTANCE OF TREND-TRACKING
Tracking consumer mega-trends is fundamental to long-term success
Trend-tracking insight 1: mega-trends can be classified in two ways according to desirable product/service benefits and societal complexities
Trend-tracking insight 2: trends are aligned with pre-existing, but evolving human values, attitudes, needs and behaviors
Trend-tracking insight 3: mega-trends can be broken down into trends and sub-trends to provide structure and clarity at a time of 'information overload'
Trend-tracking insight 4: manufacturers, retailers and researchers/futurologists perpetuate trends
Trend-tracking insight 5: adopting a broader, global perspective to trend-tracking facilitates better decision making by overcoming 'category myopia'
Trend-tracking insight 6: trends have longer-term implications than fads and can be categorized by evolvement
Trend-tracking insight 7: for every trend there is a 'counter-trend' while 'trend-crossover' is also an important phenomena
Takeouts and implications: a trend framework boosts the quality and frequency of insight generation ensuring maximum return from the broader market research processes in place THE FUTURE DECODED: DECIPHERING THE COMFORT MEGA-TREND
MEGA-TREND SYNOPSIS: Consumers want safety, simplicity, trust and indulgence in response to rising stress and uncertainty
TREND: Cautious Consumerism: many individuals are concerned about the direction of society, are distrustful and skeptical of progress and change
SUB-TREND: Societal Pessimism: globally many consumers bemoan the direction of society
Despite enormous social change and a wistfulness for simpler times, consumers in the UAE and Saudi are comparatively happy with the state of society and are generally less skeptical of the benefits of economic development
Key takeouts and implications: while a sub-set of UAE and KSA consumers are skeptical of social progress, national pride is well expressed in both countries
SUB-TREND: Skeptical consumerism: a 'trust void' exists between organizations and institutions and individuals who rely on them
UAE and Saudi consumers are now less trusting of corporate claims and are more skeptical of corporate intent
Key takeouts and implications: consumers do not inherently believe that all product claims are truthful
SUB-TREND: Risk Aversion: fears exist over production processes and progression associated with consumer products
MENA consumers are becoming more risk averse, particularly when it comes to buying food products
Key takeouts and implications: consumer understanding of what goes into food, beverages, personal care and household care products has never been greater
SUB-TREND: Technophobia: as consumers embrace digital lifestyles concerns exist about an over-reliance on technology
Gulf consumers are becoming more reliant on technology but do not exhibit clear technophobic tendencies
Key takeouts and implications: technophobia is not particularly prevalent in the region
TREND: Cocooning: the global financial crisis and the ongoing desire to 'shut off' from the wider world continues to shape global consumer attitudes and behaviors
SUB-TREND: Blinkered Optimism: many consumers adopt an overly optimistic view of their health as they shut themselves off from reality and they also look to outsource blame elsewhere
UAE and Saudi consumers can be very blinkered when assessing personal health and apportion much of the blame for aspects of poor health on others
Key takeouts and implications: some consumers refuse to acknowledge and/or accept responsibility for lifestyle and personal problems such as poor health
SUB-TREND: Insperiences: the resurgence of home-based consumption occasions
Consumer insperiences are increasingly common in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia
Key takeouts and implications: as consumers cocoon, they demand higher quality 'insperiences' that act as 'home comforts'
SUB-TREND: House-Proud Cocooning: as consumers seek sanctuary in the comfort of their homes, they become pre-occupied with upkeep
UAE and Saudi consumers are very proud of their homes and are increasingly looking to DIY solutions to keep up appearances
Key takeouts and implications: as consumers spend longer in their homes, they become increasingly disposed to being houseproud
SUB-TREND: Homeworking: structural changes in labor markets and connective technology enable more flexible, home-based work
Though a growing phenomenon and appealing to employees, home-working in the UAE and Saudi has been limited by labor laws
Key takeouts and implications: homeworking has been made considerably easier by improvements in the quality and reliability of connective technology and is a growing phenomenon but is currently not wide-spread in the UAE or Saudi
TREND: Ethnocentrism: ethnocentric preferences exacerbate favorability of national or local products and brands
SUB-TREND: Localism: consumers are embracing the 'locavore' movement
Localism is common in the Middle East, though more pronounced in Saudi Arabia than in the UAE
Key takeouts and implications: ethnocentric consumers prefer local products to ones from abroad
SUB-TREND: Ethnocentric tendencies can lead to the sporadic or longer-term boycotting or avoidance of 'foreign' products
Middle Eastern consumers are now less likely to avoid Western produce because of regionally unsympathetic tastes or flavors, but periodic political and cultural incidents ensure that boycotts of Western products remain relatively commonplace
Key takeouts and implications: consumers do not inherently distrust products and ingredients which come from foreign lands but want to know country of origin information
SUB-TREND: Ethnic tensions and polarized attitudes towards immigration and 'outside influences' are prevalent across the Middle East
In both the UAE and Saudi Arabia immigration concerns are on the rise
Key takeouts and implications: despite efforts to encourage multiculturalism, tensions between consumers of differing ethnicities still exist
TREND: Simplifying and Downshifting: consumers often aspire to a simplified, less complicated lifestyle and shopping experience
SUB-TREND: Choice Paralysis and Habitual Consumption: consumer confusion and choosing familiar brands/products
Choice paralysis is evident in the Middle East
Key takeouts and implications: consumers often feel stifled by the amount of choice on offer
SUB-TREND: Selective attention: the 'attention economy' highlights the growing difficulty of engaging consumers
UAE and Saudi consumers are unreceptive to a significant proportion, if not most, advertising
Key takeouts and implications: marketers are facing an increasingly challenging environment to get consumers' attention
SUB-TREND: The search for simplicity reflects the need to reduce physical and informational clutter and complexity in their life
UAE and Saudi consumers want a de-cluttered life
Key takeouts and implications: many consumers are increasingly seeking to simplify life and will value products that align to this ideology
SUB-TREND: Considered consumerism: consumers are buying in a more tempered and considered manner
Falling consumer expenditure has not led to genuine 'austere consumerism' in the UAE or Saudi Arabia
Key takeouts and implications: consumers have contrasting views about austere consumerism depending on location
SUB-TREND: Family First: improving work/life balance and slowing down to facilitate more and better quality family time continue to be important priorities
Leisure and family time has become dramatically more important to UAE and Saudi consumers over the past two years
Key takeouts and implications: consumers are making greater efforts to ensure that they spend as much time with their families and friends as possible
TREND: Nostalgic Consumerism and the 'Return to Real'
SUB-TREND: Buying nostalgic brands/embracing retro design
While most consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are too young to be emotionally influenced by 'retro' products an adulterated form of nostalgic consumerism is evident
Key takeouts and implications: nostalgia is a relevant trend for consumers due to the comfort that it provides but its popularity is at the mercy of wider social situations
SUB-TREND: Traditional Consumption: consumers continue to embrace traditional favorites
Traditional, regional, tastes are still popular in the Middle East
Key takeouts and implications: consumers are torn between returning to the traditional or seeking out new experiences
SUB-TREND: The re-emergence of scratch cooking and 'home-made' products
UAE and Saudi consumers are still cooking at home in significant numbers but adaptive behaviors in this space are beginning to wane
Key takeouts and implications: large numbers of consumers rediscovered scratch cooking but appetite is returning for out-of-home meals

APPENDIX
Definitions
Methodology
Further reading and references
Ask the analyst
Datamonitor consulting
Disclaimer
List of Tables
Table 1: Consumer survey: please state how satisfied you are currently with the general direction of how things are going in your country of residence: Dissatisfied or very dissatisfied
List of Figures
Figure 1: Datamonitor's mega-trends are having a long-term and substantive impact on the marketing landscape and can be grouped into two categories
Figure 2: Consumer behavior and the innovations targeting it inevitably fit into a 'trend hierarchy'
Figure 3: Datamonitor's mega-trend framework helps set the agenda for the specific topics covered in the New Consumer Insight (NCI) research stream
Figure 4: Trend tracking can be a source of (comparative) competitive analysis
Figure 5: Trend development is dictated by both 'consumer pull' and 'manufacturer push' and Datamonitor offers the intelligence tools to capitalize on this reality
Figure 6: In a consumerist global culture, the broad consumption spheres/segments transcend geographical borders which is another reason why adopting a broader approach is necessary
Figure 7: Several factors distinguish a trend from a fad
Figure 8: Opinion is somewhat polarized over whether technology is making society better
Figure 9: The issues that contribute to consumer concern and related social pessimism vary by region
Figure 10: UAE and Saudi consumers are generally happy with how society is developing in their respective states
Figure 11: UAE consumers the quickest to up-take new social-media platform Twitter
Figure 12: A downward global economic cycle is the precursor to a renewed phase of cocooning behavior
Figure 13: Saudi's are generally much more obese than they feel
Figure 14: KSA and UAE consumers are overly sanguine when assessing their health in general
Figure 15: UAE and Saudi consumers have been cutting down on out-of-home meals
Figure 16: MENA consumers are making conscious efforts to use spas and salons less often as they look to make monetary savings
Figure 17: Generally regional consumers are keen to purchase locally produced food and beverage products
Figure 18: In the UAE, Australasians, Europeans and North Americans are the making the least effort to purchase locally produced food and beverage products
Figure 19: Regional consumers increasingly want to know where their groceries come from
Figure 20: Regional consumers feel, on balance, that foreign brands are sufficiently aware of cultural and regional variations in taste
Figure 21: Regional consumers, incensed by the Mumammad cartoon controversy, cited Western disrespect as the underlying cause of the dispute
Figure 22: Consumers want to slow down the pace of life and form stronger relationships with loved ones
Figure 23: Product range is important to regional consumers
Figure 24: Stress levels have worsened significantly in the UAE an Saudi as the wider implications of the global financial crisis have influenced the region
Figure 25: UAE and Saudi respondents were more content with their sleep routines than the global average
Figure 26: Nearly a quarter of UAE and Saudi consumers are dissatisfied with their daily energy levels
Figure 27: UAE and Saudi consumers unhappy about their work-life balance
Figure 28: UAE consumers have seen their work-life balance worsen dramatically in 2009
Figure 29: Leisure time maximization has becoming increasingly critical in the UAE and Saudi Arabia
Figure 30: In these straightened economic times credit is seen by many UAE and Saudi consumers as a means to maintain lifestyle
Figure 31: Many regional consumers are unhappy with their work-life balance
Figure 32: More regional consumers are happy with the amount of time spent with their children compared to their overall work-life balance
Figure 33: Spending time with friends and family has become an growing priority for many MENA consumers
Figure 34: MENA consumers have become significantly more leisure conscious over the last two years
Figure 35: There are different forms of nostalgia, some of which provide more mass marketing opportunities than others
Figure 36: A lack of consumer confidence in difficult times is the main driver for nostalgia and traditional products
Figure 37: Authenticity is important to MENA consumers
Figure 38: % of UAE consumers who claim to be dining at home more than they used to
Figure 39: Largely for financial reasons, regional consumers became much more willing to cook from scratch in Q2 2009
Figure 40: Home made and authentic food and drinks products are very popular regionally while 'original' products do not carry the same cachet
Figure 41: There are differences between consumer values and attitudes

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By sector: Trends, Consumer (in Trends)