GCC consumer sentiment remains relatively unaffected by global agitators, says new D/A’s latest Sila Consumer Sentiment Index.
The headlines for the CSI this month are:
- GCC consumer confidence in the economy, business, and employment in December declined 1.2%, down to 65.3% from 66.5% in November
- Bahrain consumer confidence increases by 3.5%, Qatar declines by 3.1% and Oman remains flat
- The Sila Consumer Sentiment Index, produced and developed by D/A, utilises AI technology to measure consumer confidence amongst Arabic speakers
According to the latest research by leading consumer intelligence experts, D/A, owners of Sila, an Arabic-native, AI-enabled consumer intelligence platform; despite a general decline in net positivity across all global markets, the GCC’s Arabic speakers remained mainly immune to many of the global agitators regarding business, economy and employment confidence. Download the full report here.
The data is based on algorithmic AI analysis of over 100 million Arabic social media posts. The results are highlighted in the December 2021 Sila Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) report, which revealed that the GCC remained relatively immune to the key issues affecting consumer sentiment on a global level.
Overall, GCC consumer confidence in December declined 1.2%, down to 65.3% from 66.5% in November, and 66.3% in October. These modest declines are attributed to global dynamics, including inflationary pressure on consumer spending, uncertainty around variants of COVID-19 and the resulting impacts on daily life, and government support for the economy via maintained spending and reforms.
Business confidence has sustained a more considerable setback of almost 2% month-on-month, from 61.3% in November to 59.5% in December. However, it is still registering net positivity and trending above pre-pandemic levels.
From an economic perspective, macro/government intervention in GCC economies saw a 3.7% increase in confidence in December, up 3.7% month-on-month, marking a two-year series high in economic growth sentiment, a significant consumer confidence indicator.
Consumer confidence around employment declined by 1.3% month-on-month to 81% in December and 1.5% below October’s reading of 82.5%. This trend still presents a significant shift from the pre-pandemic level of 87.9% recorded in February 2020 and the 86.1% noted in June 2021, indicating a more inconsistent recovery concerning this marker.
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