By Sunil John, President - Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Founder of ASDA’A BCW
In image above: Sunil John, President across MENA and Founder of Asda'a BCW
With 8.7% in 2022, Saudi Arabia reported last year its highest GDP growth rate in over a decade, at a time when many economies are perilously close to a recession and the World Bank is slashing its global economic outlook for 2023 to 1.7%, compared to an earlier estimate of 3%. By contrast, this year, the Saudi economy is expected to accelerate by 3% on the back of windfall oil revenues and the robust growth of the non-oil sector. With the Vision Realization Programs to achieve the objectives set by Saudi Vision 2030 in full gear, the transformational growth achieved by the Kingdom, across all sectors, is creating remarkable new opportunities for its youth, who form 70% of the population.
Today, Saudi youth are confident, upbeat, and optimistic that “their best days are ahead of them.” This is one of the key findings of the 14th annual ASDA’A BCW Arab Youth Survey, the largest of its kind study of the region’s largest demographic, it is over 200 million youth. The findings of the survey inform governments and businesses on policy-making and strategy development, especially for marketing professionals to understand the shifting priorities and aspirations of young Arabs
With nearly 28 million social media users, Saudi Arabia has one of the most dynamic youth markets, and engaging them is crucial to under- stand their hearts and minds. Where do they get their news? Which social media channels do they prefer? Do they trust social influencers? What are their shopping preferences? What do they buy online? Questions to these answers will empower brands and marketers.
It is equally important to understand the perceptions of young Saudis about the transformational changes around them, and their aspirations for the future. On all these, our survey offers rich insights that help create compelling strategies for marketing to youth – in Saudi Arabia and across the Arab world.
A preference for private sector jobs.
In the past years, Saudi Arabia has invested significantly in strengthening the role of the private sector. Most recently, HRH Mohammed bin Salman launched the Shareek program to accelerate the contribution of large companies, which seeks to unlock $1.3 trillion (SAR 5 trillion) in national private sector investments in line with Vision 2030. An investment of $51 billion (SAR 120 billion) in eight such companies was announced to achieve over $124 billion (SAR 466.83 billion) in GDP growth by 2040 and create over 64,000 local jobs.
Not surprisingly then, today, more young Saudi men and women say they would prefer to work in business than in a government job (43% versus 34%), while a quarter (23%) say they want to work for themselves or their family. Challenging Western stereotypes of Saudi Arabia, over two-thirds (68%) of young Saudi nationals say men and women have equal rights, and 61% say they have equal work opportunities, according to the survey. And a full 96% say that women entering the workforce will positively impact the country.
Committed to faith and traditional values.
While young Saudi men and women say they are embracing the Kingdom’s reform agenda, most also want to hold on to their traditional culture and values, according to the research. More than two-thirds (69%) say religion is most important to their personal identity, and 82% say preserving their religious and cultural identity is more important than creating a globalized society. More than nine in 10 say that the laws of their country should be based on Sharia Islamic principles as opposed to common or civil law standards, while 79% say their attachment to the Arabic language is stronger than that of their parents. At the same time, nearly 85% of young Saudis say the Arab world needs to reform its religious institutions.
The social media generation.
Young Saudis are heavy users of social media. According to the study, WhatsApp (98%), Snapchat (84%), YouTube (83%), Twitter (73%), TikTok (60%), and Facebook (55%) are the most popular platforms. The use of TikTok has nearly tripled over the past three years, from 24% of young Saudis who said they used it every day in 2020 to 60% today. The popularity of Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter has also risen, but the daily use of Facebook has declined, from 82% in 2020 to 55% today, according to the research. Unsurprisingly, social media is the most important news source for 43% of the Saudi youth interviewed, followed by TV (27%) and online news outlets (23%). However, they say they trust all three news sources equally. The number of Saudis shopping online has doubled over the past five years, from 58% saying they bought products and services via websites and social media apps at least once a month in 2018, to virtually all respondents saying they shop digitally today.
Their most popular purchases are clothing (69%), beauty and grooming products (33%), food (31%), electronics (22%), and groceries (17%). At ASDA’A BCW, we believe that to understand the Arab world, we must first understand the hearts and minds of its largest demographic, its youth. The findings show that Saudi youth are seeking to chart a new course with both men and women fully on board with the country’s reform agenda and enthusiastic about their future.
This article was first published in Communicate's Q1 2023 print issue.
