Revealed: Price drives brand loyalty for 66% of GCC customers

A recent report published by Talkwalker and YouGov has revealed the shifts in consumer preferences, priorities, and behavior towards CPG brands during the past Ramadan season. The report titled ‘Evolving Consumer Behaviour in the GCC during Ramadan 2022’ highlight how brand loyalty in the region is driven by price, quality, and availability of promotions.

44% of surveyed GCC consumers ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ to planning on purchasing from smaller or lesser-known brands. Estimates for Ramadan 2022 revealed that “online consumer spending in the Middle East and North Africa is valued at 6.2 billion U.S. dollars”, which would represent a 39 percent increase compared to Ramadan 2021.

“Consumers are demanding that brands bring more value with their products,” said Rami Deeb, Marketing Manager CEEMEA at Talkwalker. “Brands must be able to granularly understand what value means to each consumer segment and to deliver on that promise. As the first post-pandemic Ramadan season, we wanted to quantitatively and qualitatively understand these shifts in priorities and give brands insight into what they can do to prepare.”

The report includes a wealth of data for CPG brands looking to get closer to their consumer base in the Gulf region. Specifically, it looks at the factors that consumers consider when comparing brands. Also, the report attempts to reveal the key drivers of repeat purchases among GCC consumers. Lastly, the report looks at whether GCC consumers feel emotionally attached to brands and therefore, remain loyal to them.

Consumer closeness enables brands to transform data into real-time consumer insight, effortlessly guide decision-making, and drive brand growth. With leading-edge brands in customer-centricity growing nearly 3x faster than the industry average.

“The survey results highlight that factors such as price & quality are the main decision drivers when choosing a brand,” said Zafar Shah, Account Director at YouGov MENA. “However, to win a customer’s loyalty, brand trust and a positive past experience come into play. For brands to create and communicate an attractive value proposition, it is necessary that the perceived value (in this case quality) of the offering exceeds the value of the price the customer is paying. It is interesting to note that while GCC customers express strong loyalty to brands they currently or have used (72%) they are equally open (69%) to buying quality products regardless of the brand and are not averse to exploring new brands and products (61%). This presents an opportunity to brands not just within the context of Ramadan but in general as well.”