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Local or international brands? UAE consumers see origin as important as benefits

Dubai - Seven out of 10 respondents perceive that global brands are generally more expensive than local brands

Around 73 per cent of UAE consumers find brand origin as important as product benefits, according to a recent online survey conducted by Nielsen.
Respondents say a brand's country of origin is more important than other purchasing drivers, including selection/choice, price, function and quality, but sentiment varies by category.
Respondents in the UAE say they prefer local brands for dairy products such as milk (55 per cent vs 25 per cent) and yogurt, (55 per cent vs 23 per cent) and healthier beverage categories such as juices (47 per cent vs 27 per cent) and water (57 per cent vs 20 per cent).
On the other hand, in personal and beauty care products, global brands are consumers' preferred choice; the study included toothpastes (61 per cent vs 17 per cent), shampoo/conditioner (59 per cent vs 18 per cent), deodorant (56 per cent vs 21 per cent), cosmetics (56 per cent vs 17 per cent).
Perceived specialisation of a country is also a factor when it comes to brand origin. Some product categories have become almost synonymous with certain countries: in this case, coffee and tea from Colombia, India and Vietnam, and chocolate from Belgium and Switzerland, which explains the preference for global brands when it comes to sweets and chocolates (55 per cent vs 22 per cent).
Seven out of 10 respondents perceive that global brands are generally more expensive than local brands, though six out of 10 also reckon that the former offer better quality products.
"As consumers are optimising their spending... findings show that the decision in choosing global or local is slowly diminishing in the UAE as respondents tend to go for products with better value/promotion, regardless of the brand origin," said Arslan Ashraf, managing director for Nielsen Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan.
"It is also important to note that the general makeup of the UAE population includes expats from across many nations in the world, which could contribute to preferences for non-local brands in certain categories," Ashraf added.
When asked to select the top three decision factors for selecting a product, respondents say that a sale or promotion on the brand, better product benefits and positive experience with the brand are among the important factors when deciding to buy a product.
The Nielsen Global Brand-Origin Survey polled more than 30,000 online respondents in 61 countries to understand consumer sentiment about product origin across 40 categories, from consumables to durables.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com