The latest Middle East and North Africa Consumer Confidence Index Survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and YouGov, a research and consulting organisation, shows that expectations for the year to come are high across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In Qatar, respondents forecast a better financial climate and economy, with improved business conditions and more jobs available.
Regional Sentiment
In general across the MENA region, feelings for respondents’ personal situations at the present time are neutral. Only28% claim that their financial situation is better than last year, compared to65% who state that it has either remained the same or declined. National economies are considered to be worse than last year, according to33% of respondents. Consumer behaviour (41% of respondents say that now is a ‘bad time to buy’) is likely impacting business conditions which are neutral to bad, as stated by65%.
In terms of employment, almost half of the respondents (49%) claim that there are ‘very few jobs available’. Six out of ten say that their company has either the same or fewer employees than this time12 months ago, and two thirds (65%) believe that their salaries have not kept pace with the cost of living.
However, respondents appear to be optimistic for the upcoming year. The majority believe that their personal financial situation (51%), country’s economy (44%), business conditions (49%) and employment conditions (35%) will improve.
“Retaining a positive outlook for the year to come will be pivotal to the region’s success. Conditions may not be considered to be entirely favourable at the present time, but there are plenty of signs that the months to come will prove beneficial for all,” said Suhail Masri, Vice President of Sales, Bayt.com. “Bayt.com gathers vital information from pertinent cross-sections of MENA society, to provide in-depth insights into the feelings, behaviour and trends happening in recruitment and business around the region.”
Satisfaction with career prospects in the region at present is low, according to39% of respondents, while38% state that it is ‘neutral’. Three quarters of respondents (74%) also claim that the prospect for career growth in their current organisation is neutral to low. Job security is seen to be an issue by67%, with only one in four (27%) claiming their job security is ‘high’, and satisfaction with compensation is neutral to low, according to84%.
With regards to employment,24% of companies expect to increase employees in the coming three months. A further61% are either neutral or pessimistic about growth potential vis-a-vis the number of employees in their organization. The sentiment towards keeping up with staffing requirements is neutral, according to four out of ten respondents (37%), however19% cite optimism.
The outlook for inflation is negative, with38% believing there will be a rise in the cost of living. Similarly,36% believe the cost of real estate is still creating a feeling of negativity across the region.
In the next12 months29% of respondents are planning to purchase a vehicle. Of these,51% will buy new. Moreover, one in five (21%) are considering investing in property, with65% of them planning to buy new.
The five most popular consumer purchases in the next six months will be desktop or laptop computers (25%); furniture (20%); LCD or plasma television (18%); air conditioners (16%) and digital cameras (13%).
“Consumer habits have remained somewhat stable in the past year, with the same five product categories continually topping the list. Computers are always a favourite purchase across the board, and technology in general seems to consistently be the best-selling consumer goods category,” said Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov.
In Qatar
Respondents from Qatar feel that their current personal financial situation has mostly remained the same (40%). Feelings towards the country’s economy are mostly neutral (39%), and it is considered to be a neutral time to buy according to49%. In line with this,39% of respondents state that business conditions are neutral, while64% state that there are ‘not many’ or ‘very few’ jobs available.While36% of Qatar respondents believe that there are more employees in their company now than there were at this time last year;55% claim that there are the same or fewer. The majority (58%) state that their salary has not kept pace with the cost of living.
For the year to come, expectations are high, as ever. More than half (55%) believe that their personal financial situation will improve. Also expected to improve are the country’s economy (50%), business conditions (55%) and employment conditions, with54% stating there will be more jobs available.
Job satisfaction in Qatar is considered to be mostly neutral to low, with only15% believing that the career prospects in their current job are high, while34% state that the opportunities for career growth are low. The majority (72%) claim neutral to low satisfaction with their job security, and almost half (46%) are unhappy with their current compensation.
Over38% of Qatar respondents anticipate no change in the number of employees at their current company in the coming three months, with39% being ‘neutral’ with the prospect of keeping up with staffing requirements.
Respondents anticipate a mostly neutral-to-negative impact vis-a-vis the cost of living (according to63%); they also believe that accommodation costs will either stay the same or rise (stated by64%).
In the next12 months,31% of Qatar respondents are considering purchasing a vehicle; of these,38% will buy new. Within the same timeframe,22% will consider buying property,60% of whom will purchase a new property.
The three most popular consumer purchases for the next six months will be desktop or laptop computers (27%); furniture (20%) and LCD or plasma televisions (15%).
Data for the quarterly Bayt.com Consumer Confidence Index survey (August2012) was collected online from July16 to August1,2012, with7,421 respondents aged over18 years, covering GCC Arab, North African, Levant, Western Expatriate and Asian nationalities. Countries who participated are UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan.