Spending Power of Middle East Elite

Synovate has this week announced the early 2006 results for its PAX survey across eight key markets in the Middle East. PAX brings together media consumption, product purchase and purchase intention information for affluent consumers.

The Synovate PAX results represent 1,635,000 high-end consumers across the Middle East, with a combined personal monthly income of nearly US$8 billion. This high-spending group is key for marketers, according to Synovate's Media Director Steve Garton. 'By focusing on top-tier consumers and linking their media usage with consumption of luxury goods and services, Synovate PAX offers critical marketing intelligence to media organisations and planners. This audience is also highly influential in business across the region.'

The results show that elite consumers across the Middle East are experiencing a surge in confidence and spending on high-end products. Garton says this means increased opportunities for the region's marketers. 'Our product ownership data shows the top-tier consumers are spending. Our psychographic data shows they feel good. And our media data shows they are heavy consumers of international and regional media. The time is ripe for marketers to get their message out there.'

According to Garton there is an interesting comparison between PAX respondents in the Middle East and those in Asia Pacific, where the survey has been running for the past 10 years. 'People in the Middle East love shopping much more than Asians - 78% of women and 68% of men get their kicks from shopping, compared to 31% of women and 21% of men in Asia Pacific.'

Garton says the psychographic results show that users of international and regional media have higher scores on many attributes relating to leadership. 'These people are not only leaders in society, but also leading consumers, showing a drive to keep up with modern technology and a willingness to try new brands. Indeed, 50% of Synovate PAX respondents agree that they have great trust in what they have seen advertised, whilst 73% believe advertisements are a good way to learn about products and services.'

Typically, affluent consumers in the Middle East turn to international and regional media for news, insights and entertainment not available from local media. This is most marked
amongst top management and business decision makers. '46% of the PAX Middle East universe viewed international TV in the past month, making it a large and influential audience', according to Garton.

Synovate PAX conducted 2,600 interviews in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan from December 2005 to March 2006. The company is online at www.synovate.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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