sample-middle east digital consumer report

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SAMPLE: Middle East and North Africa Digital Consumer Report

Commissioned by Econsultancy and conducted by Real Opinions SAMPLE ONLY. Please download the full report from:

http://econsultancy.com/reports/middle-east-digital-consumer-report


SAMPLE: Middle East and North Africa Digital Consumer Report

Econsultancy London

4th Floor, The Corner

91-93 Farringdon Road

London EC1M 3LN

United Kingdom

Telephone:

+44 (0)20 7269 1450

http://econsultancy.com

[email protected]

Econsultancy New York

41 East 11th St., 11th Floor

New York, NY 10003

United States

Telephone:

+1 212 699 3626

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,

electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording

or any information storage and retrieval system, without

prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2011

Published October 2011

Middle East and North Africa Digital Consumer Report - Commissioned by Econsultancy and conducted by Real Opinions

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage

and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2011

Contents

1. Executive Summary and Highlights ................................ 1

2. About Econsultancy ......................................................... 4

3. About Real Opinions ........................................................ 5

4. Methodology and sample ................................................. 6

5. Findings ........................................................................... 7

5.1. Internet usage .............................................................................. 7

5.1.1. Use of the internet .......................................................................................... 7

5.1.2. Time spent online ......................................................................................... 11

5.1.3. Location of internet broadband .................................................................. 12

5.2. Smartphones .............................................................................. 14

5.2.1. Internet-enabled smartphones ................................................................... 14

5.2.2. Activities carried out using smartphones ................................................... 17

5.3. Online purchases ....................................................................... 20

5.3.1. Use of the internet for researching products ............................................. 20

5.3.2. Purchasing products and services online ................................................... 22

5.3.3. Barriers preventing online purchase .......................................................... 24

5.3.4. Types of products purchased online ........................................................... 26

5.4. Payment cards ........................................................................... 30

5.4.1. Ownership of payment cards .......................................................................30

5.4.2. Use of payment cards for online purchases ................................................ 32

5.4.3. Consumers considering payment cards for online purchases ................... 34

5.5. Social media ............................................................................... 35

5.5.1. Use of social media websites ....................................................................... 35

5.5.2. Adding comments in online discussions .................................................... 39

5.5.3. Ratings and reviews ..................................................................................... 41

5.5.4. Liking brands on Facebook ......................................................................... 42

5.5.5. Following brands on Twitter ....................................................................... 44

5.6. Search ........................................................................................ 45

5.6.1. Use of search engines ................................................................................... 45

5.6.2. Language for search ..................................................................................... 47

5.6.3. Sponsored listings ........................................................................................ 49

5.7. Email ........................................................................................... 51

5.7.1. Subscribing to email newsletters ................................................................ 51

5.7.2. Purchases resulting from email newsletters ............................................... 52

6. Respondent profiles ....................................................... 53

6.1. Gender ....................................................................................... 53

6.2. Age ............................................................................................. 53

Middle East and North Africa Digital Consumer Report - Commissioned by Econsultancy and conducted by Real Opinions

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage

and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2011

6.3. Geographic location .................................................................. 54

SAMPLE: Middle East and North Africa Digital Consumer Report - Commissioned by Econsultancy and conducted by Real Opinions Page 1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information

storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2011

1. Executive Summary and Highlights The Middle East Digital Consumer Report is based on a survey (commissioned by

Econsultancy and conducted by Real Opinions) of more than 2,000 consumers, across a range of

regions across the Middle East, including North Africa, the Levant and the GCC. Respondents

came from the Real Opinions online panel across the Middle East from a pool of over 100,000

internet users.

The report looks at internet usage in the region, including the types of products and services

purchased by consumers online. The report also examines in detail how consumers use a wide

range of online channels, including mobile, social media, search and email.

The survey findings cover the whole of the Middle East and are broken down for different regions.

Certain questions are split out further for Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The results show that

cultural, demographic and population differences between Middle Eastern countries can have far-

reaching consequences for marketers in this region.

Social networking is the most popular online activity across the Middle East with 88% of

consumers reporting they use the internet for this daily.

– In the Gulf states, email is the most frequent activity undertaken on the internet, with 87%

reporting they use email daily. Some 80% undertake social networking daily.

Typically, internet users in the Middle East spend more than two hours online every day.

More than a third of respondents (38%) report spending between two and five hours online,

while another 34% spend more than five hours online daily.

Facebook is overwhelmingly the most popular social media site in the Middle East, with some

98% of respondents stating they use the site.

– Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) say they have ‘liked’ a brand on Facebook.

Slightly more consumers in the Levant region (82%) have ‘liked’ brands on Facebook.

Consumers are using the internet both at home and work. While the majority have internet

broadband access at home, the proportion of respondents with internet at work varies

significantly by country. The UAE has a strong reputation for business and consequently has 69%

of respondents with broadband access at work, far higher than in other parts of the Middle East.

The majority of consumers (86%) in this survey typically have internet broadband access at

home. Some 35% also have broadband at work.

SAMPLE ONLY. Please download the full report from:






Other relevant Econsultancy reports, training and events

Reports

The State of Digital in the Middle East and North Africa

http://econsultancy.com /reports/the-state-of-digital-in-mena

Middle East and North Africa: Internet Statistics Compendium

http://econsultancy.com/reports/middle-east-and-north-africa-internet-statistics-compendium

Blog posts

http://econsultancy.com/blog/tags/middle-east

Training

Training courses in Dubai

http://econsultancy.com/training/in/dubai

Fast Track Digital Marketing - Dubai Training

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/fast-track-digital-marketing-dubai/

Social Media Marketing - Dubai Training

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/social-media-marketing-dubai/

Online Media Planning and Buying – Dubai Training

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/online-media-planning-and-buying-dubai

Usability and User Experience - Dubai Training

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/usability-and-user-experience-dubai

Events

Digital Cream Dubai

http://econsultancy.com/events/digital-cream-dubai

To keep up-to-date with Econsultancy's latest developments in MENA, including training, reports

and events, bookmark this page: http://econsultancy.com/hello/mena



http://econsultancy.com/reports/middle-east-and-north-africa-internet-statistics-compendium

http://econsultancy.com/blog/tags/middle-east

http://econsultancy.com/training/in/dubai

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/fast-track-digital-marketing-dubai/

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/social-media-marketing-dubai/

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/online-media-planning-and-buying-dubai

http://econsultancy.com/training/courses/usability-and-user-experience-dubai

http://econsultancy.com/events/digital-cream-dubai

http://econsultancy.com/hello/mena





2. About Econsultancy Econsultancy is a community where the world's digital marketing and e-commerce professionals

meet to sharpen their strategy, source suppliers, get quick answers, compare notes, help each

other out and discover how to do everything better online.

It was launched in 1999 and since then has grown to a dominant position in the digital marketing

industry with more than 100,000 members worldwide.

Its website and blog attracts more than 300,000 unique users per month and its range of training

courses and conferences are attended by more than 5,000 marketers every year.

Econsultancy also provides a range of resources specifically for the Middle East including

regionalised reports, such as the Middle East internet Statistics Compendium, local events, online

resources and training programmes. Econsultancy’s 100,000 members make better decisions,

build business cases, find the best suppliers, look smart in meetings and accelerate their careers.

Find out more at http://econsultancy.com/hello/mena.

For more information, visit http://econsultancy.com or follow @econsultancy on Twitter.



http://econsultancy.com/hello/mena

http://econsultancy.com/

http://twitter.com/econsultancy





3. About Real Opinions Real Opinions is the appointed knowledge partner of Econsultancy in the Middle East. It has been

at the forefront of helping to promote a better understanding of the evolving Middle East digital

landscape through its research and is considered as one of the leading innovators in digital

research. It consulted on this project and conducted research with its own exclusive online panel

across the Middle East.

Real Opinions is a full service market research consultancy through its headquarters in Dubai and

globally based consultants. It specialises in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

providing innovative and strategic market research solutions and consulting. It is a regular

presenter at conferences in both the Middle East and Europe.

Its online panel includes over 100,000 Middle East Internet users and is able to conduct online

and mobile qualitative and quantitative research with them.

For more information about Real Opinions, visit http://www.real-opinions.com or follow

@realopinions on Twitter.

To contact them and for any inquiries about this research project, email inquiry@real-

opinions.com



http://www.real-opinions.com/

http://twitter.com/realopinions

mailto:[email protected]






4. Methodology and sample Respondents came from the Real Opinions online panel across the Middle East from a pool of

over 100,000 internet users. Panel members were randomly selected in each country to ensure a

representative sample was obtained in each to reflect the internet population. The number of

respondents in each country reflects a number of factors, such as the number of internet users,

the frequency of internet usage and a minimum number in order to analyse each country

individually. The number of respondents from Libya and Syria were limited due to internet

restrictions.

A total of n=1999 respondents reached the final demographic questions of the survey. Research

was conducted from 10th to 15th of June 2011 in order to have the research completed before the

seasonal school summer holidays.

Respondents were given a choice of either English (20% of respondents) or Arabic (80% of

respondents) language to complete the survey in.

The Middle East sub-regions of North Africa, Levant and GCC reflect the geographical clustering,

economic and cultural similarity. Analysis is broken down in this document by these sub-regions

to highlight the differences.

The full database of respondents is held by Real Opinions and is available for further analysis.

For further inquiries on the methodology and results, contact [email protected].





5. Findings

5.1. Internet usage

5.1.1. Time spent online

Typically, internet users spend more than two hours online every day. More than a third of

respondents (38%) report spending between two and five hours online, while another 34% spend

more than five hours online daily.

Figure 1: On average, how much time in a typical day do you spend online?

Source: Real Opinions Middle East Online Panel Respondents: 2638

The results below show the breakdown across different regions in the Middle East, indicating that

more than two-thirds of internet users in each region spend at least two hours a day online.







5.2. Smartphones

5.2.1. Internet-enabled smartphones

Nokia is the smartphone manufacturer of choice in the Middle East, according to 44% of

respondents surveyed. Other internet-enabled smartphones owned by respondents include

Samsung (13%), iPhone (12%) and BlackBerry (11%). Just under a quarter of respondents (23%)

do not own a smart phone.

Figure 2: What type of internet-enabled phone (smartphone) do you have?

Note: respondents could check more than one option Respondents: 2523 Source: Real Opinions Middle East Online Panel

The results from UAE and Saudi show that BlackBerry handsets are significantly more popular in

the Emirates.

Results for Saudi Arabia and UAE

Figure 3: What type of internet-enabled phone (smartphone) do you have?

Note: respondents could check more than one option Saudi respondents: 194 Source: Real Opinions Middle East Online Panel UAE respondents: 171







5.3. Online purchases

5.3.1. Use of the internet for researching products Just under half of consumers (48%) say they occasionally use the internet either for looking for

products or for researching planned purchases. Under a fifth (18%) regularly use the internet for

purchases.

Figure 4: Do you ever use the internet to look for products or items to buy or to research something you plan to purchase?


The chart below shows the breakdown of results across the Middle East and indicates a third of

respondents (33%) in the Gulf regularly use the internet for purchasing or researching products.

Slightly more respondents in the UAE say they regularly look for products and items to buy on the

internet.







5.4. Payment cards

5.4.1. Ownership of payment cards

Almost half of consumers in the Middle East (47%) have a payment card as Figure 37 shows.

However, 53% of consumers in this region do not have a payment card.



5.5. Social media

5.5.1. Use of social media websites

Facebook is overwhelmingly the most popular social media site in the Middle East, with some

98% of respondents stating they use the site. Next on the list is YouTube, with 61% of respondents

using the site, significantly fewer than Facebook, the leading social network in the region.








5.6. Search

5.6.1. Use of search engines Google is the most commonly used search engine in the region with 61% of respondents using the

English version of the site. Over half (58%) are using the Arabic version of Google.



5.7. Email

5.7.1. Subscribing to email newsletters

Over a fifth of respondents (22%) say they regularly subscribe to email newsletters, while 9%

occasionally subscribe.








6. Respondent profiles

6.1. Gender The majority of respondents (72%) taking part in this survey are male. Just over a quarter (28%)

are female.

Figure 5: Are you male or female?


6.2. Age Over half of respondents in this survey (59%) are aged between 21 and 35, while 17% are under 21

and 22% are aged 35 and over.

Figure 6: In which age range do you fit into?





The chart below shows the age breakdown for respondents in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The

results show that Saudi has a significantly younger population and that there more respondents

aged above 35 in the Emirates.

Results for Saudi Arabia and UAE

Figure 7: In which age range do you fit into?

Source: Real Opinions Middle East Online Panel Saudi respondents: 163

UAE respondents: 156

6.3. Geographic location Over a third of respondents (38%) reside in North Africa, while over a quarter (28%) are from the

Gulf states. Just over a fifth (22%) are from the Levant. Some 12% fall into the ‘Other Middle East’

category, which includes Iran, Iraq and Yemen.

Figure 8: From which region in the Middle East do you mainly reside in?





Figure 76shows the total breakdown of countries in the Middle East, and indicates that 20% of

respondents reside in Egypt.

Figure 9: Which country in the Middle East do you reside in?





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