Middle East

Demand for polishes was already declining prior to the pandemic in Israel, driven by changing lifestyles and a priority in terms of purchasing products considered more essential. In 2023, local consumers continued to lead busy lifestyles, especially…

Demand for polish continued to rise in 2023, following the retail volume declines of 2020 due to pandemic-induced home seclusion. The latter resulted in waning interest in polishing one’s footwear, for instance, with the latter experiencing the…

In 2023, furniture polish in the United Arab Emirates remained the strongest performer in overall polishes, both in terms of retail and volume growth. Its performance was significantly influenced by the surging demand for premium and luxurious…

Smartphones are expected to continue to dominate Middle East and Africa portable consumer electronics market as a growing population of young people continues to create demand. Smartphones are increasingly in demand across all countries in Middle…

Portable players is set to see volume sales increase in Israel in 2024 driven by wireless speakers. In keeping with its results throughout the review period, the wireless speakers category is set to see volume growth in 2024. It continues to benefit…

Wireless speakers is the winning category within portable players in Saudi Arabia. Streaming services and smartphones with poor audio quality are driving demand for wireless speakers. Streaming services often offer high-quality audio options, such as…

Demand for portable players in the United Arab Emirates continues to rise, driven by the popularity of wireless speakers. This is mainly due to consumers preferring these portable options over built-in smartphone speakers or streaming services with…

In 2023, closed loop pre-paid cards witnessed a decline in transaction value and volume, consistent with a continuing trend as consumers increasingly shift towards payment apps. Despite some consumers still having significant value loaded onto their…

Pre-paid cards are benefitting from the Kingdom’s move towards a cashless society – especially so in certain areas. For example, as seen with the uptake of pre-paid cards for the payment of workers’ salaries, notably so for domestic workers. In this…

Pre-paid cards in the United Arab Emirates is experiencing a surge in innovation and growth, driven by evolving consumer preferences, technological advances, and the increasing popularity of digital payments. Mobile reloading options, such as bank…

Retail current value sales of premium and luxury cars increased by 8% to AED15.5 billion in 2023, due to demand from higher-income consumers, whose expenditure proved resilient in the face of macroeconomic headwinds. Demand for premium and luxury…

Premium beauty and personal care saw double-digit current value growth in Israel in 2023. Overall, the premium trend slowed at the end of the review period, as the disposable income of local consumers declined and there was a growing willingness to…

Premium beauty and personal care witnessed more dynamic growth in current value terms in 2023 than mass beauty and personal care. There were a number of factors behind this, although one of the major ones was the increased number of tourists. With…

Despite rising price sensitivity and the solid growth of the mass segment, premium beauty and personal care in the United Arab Emirates also experienced a robust performance in 2023. Amid global challenges in beauty and personal care, the United Arab…

In February 2022, Yachin increased the prices of its canned goods by an average of 24%. In the months following, the prices of canned goods continued to rise. While no major announcements were made regarding the increase in these products, the prices…

Saudi Arabia mainly imports its potatoes from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Egypt. However, during the second half of 2022 there were difficulties in importing potatoes from these countries as they experienced poor harvests due to unfavourable…

Retail demand for frozen processed vegetables continues to rise in 2023, driven by consumer perceptions that this format offers convenience and is an easy-to-prepare alternative to fresh vegetables. It takes less preparation time, since frozen…