Vast disparities occur among the different regions in terms of shopping habits and as for online...
Shopping malls are visited by around 90 per cent of the adult population of Saudi Arabia with 74 per cent visiting once a month or more; and around 23 per cent visiting on a weekly basis. Females, Arabs and young people aged 15-24 years exhibit a slightly higher propensity towards visiting malls compared to the general population. Residents from the Central and Western Region visit malls more frequently compared to residents of Eastern Region. The frequency of visits by the Northern Region as well as the Southern Region is quite low with only 12.4 per cent of Southern adults (15 years +) residents visiting malls on a weekly basis. Supermarkets and discount centers are visited more frequently than shopping malls. Around 86 per cent of residents visit supermarkets at least once in a month with 28 per cent visiting on a weekly basis.
Weekly grocery shopping is conducted by 78 per cent. Around 9 per cent shop for any grocery staples on a daily basis. The omnipresent of small grocery shops - baqalas - ensures that around 13 per cent shop from them in a month.
On an average a resident spends around $463 (SAR 1738) a month on groceries. Advertising, price, quality of products, locality and fast check-out are the three top five most important factors on deciding which shops to use for major shopping. In the oil rich Kingdom, the qualityconscious population far outweighs the price-sensitive segment. Some 62 per cent agree that it is worth paying extra for quality products whereas only 41 per cent agree that they look for lowest prices while shopping. Advertising significantly influences the purchase decision as 44 per cent agree that they feel safer with brands that they have seen advertised; and 52 per cent agree that they enjoy any kind of shopping. Only 36 per cent own a plastic card and a quarter of population agrees that they may buy online if there is a safer way to pay for it.
This percentage runs high at 32 per cent among the weekly shopping malls visitors so it could be years before online shopping gains any significant market share. City Max, Center point, Al Outhaim,City Center and Al Haram are the top five most visited shopping malls in the Kingdom. Hyper Panda, Carrefour and Al Othaim are the top three most frequented supermarkets.
M Shaharyar Umar Marketing director Pan Arab Research Center
© Gulf Marketing Review 2012
