What are the Purchase Drivers in MENA Motivated by Sustainability?

Brands in the MENA region are investing in sustainability which has shown a spike worldwide. With brands picking up on this, they are now spending more money on marketing, to communicate the wider benefits of their products and services on society and the environment, especially that consumers have become more conscious and the purchase drivers are changing.

To what extent are brands in tune with consumer sentiments with respect to sustainability? And what are the most important sustainability topics for audiences in the UAE?

Using Semantic AI through Synthesio, our Social Intelligence platform, we took a data-driven approach and looked at conversations on social media, to understand which topics are gaining the most traction from the perspective of UAE audiences.

The above chart demonstrates the results of this analysis. Interestingly, we saw how the topic of plastic bags in shops delivers limited attention, despite retailers recently launching initiatives to charge customers for plastic bags in an effort to reduce plastic waste.

On the other hand, the topics that have gained the most traction over the past 12 months are Sustainable fashion, fostering change to fashion products and the fashion system towards greater ecological integrity and social justice and Sustainable investing, with consumers engaging with content that seeks to consider both financial return and social/environmental good to bring about social change. Equally, attention is given to content stressing efforts to invest in a sustainable future.

Having established these trends, we also extracted the top active brands in the UAE, when it comes to the sustainable conversation. The analysis shows a mix of retailers, airlines, energy companies, utilities and FMCG players. Etihad comes in the leading posting due to its marketing and communication around energy efficiency, and also its large social media community which allows for a wider reach.

Based on a study we conducted in 2020, people were divided when it came to responsibilities for environmental sustainability, with the highest percentage placing the responsibility on society itself (society, 41%), but with a good number of people also saying that government (32%) and businesses (27%) have a role to play, with businesses’ responsibility being the highest in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Morocco, and Egypt. On the other hand, some people are playing their part in the battle against climate change, with actions that include using energy-saving lights, less water usage and recycling at home, among others.

Will this trend become the norm among brands?