More UAE consumers relying on smart services

Dubai - UAE is already being looked at as a global destination of development.

UAE residents are increasingly turning to smart solutions as a way to strike a much-needed work-life balance, and they are willing to pay a premium as long as it delivers the convenience they require.

With Dubai ranked among the top smart cities - at par with Singapore and Tokyo, among other developed cities - global corporates are aligning their vision with the government's aim to transform Dubai into a smart city.

Top firms endorse the fact that the UAE is already being looked at as a global destination of development and growth. William Ruh, senior vice-president and chief digital officer of GE and CEO of GE Digital, said: "The UAE is leading its growth as it continues to invest in infrastructure in a smart way, making it our biggest market in the Gulf region."
The company has launched its Predix platform - which is purpose-built for deriving specific industrial insights and outcomes across diverse and highly regulated industrial markets - in the UAE which will help in connecting big industrial machines, optimise machines, people and use the platform for boosting growth in healthcare, aviation, power and oil and gas which will digitise these industries, informed Ruh. 
So evolving of smarcity has also led to consumers in the UAE displaying burgeoning demand for convenient solutions that can help simplify their lives, with busy lifestyles and rising connectivity playing an increasingly pivotal role in buying decisions. Businesses may rethink of their strategy factoring in consumer convenience.


The Nielsen Quest for Convenience Report highlights the rapidly-growing demand for convenience in markets around the world, including the UAE.

One in five UAE consumers say they seek out products that are convenient to use (22 per cent), make their life easier (19 per cent) and are suitable for small households (22 per cent). Consumers are also looking for products that are tailored to a specific need (15 per cent).

While demand for convenience varies by region, the report reveals six key factors driving consumers' increasing need for convenience which are consistent globally: urbanisation, shrinking household sizes, crowded urban transport, evolving gender roles, generational needs and increasing uptake of technology.

The healthcare sector in the UAE is today pressed to deliver the latest solutions as consumers tend to get very demanding being pampered with a lifestyle of clicks; more and more hospitals are launching apps to add to consumer convenience.

"The use of mobile applications is necessary in order to meet and ease the growing communication needs of customers. Payments through the app are just one element among the various others that enable patient-centric care... they can manage their registration, payment and discharges as well from wherever they are," Taher Shams, managing director of Zulekha Healthcare Group, said.

"Likewise, insurance approvals can be tracked with a simple tracking number provided to the patient from the hospital and one doesn't need to call or follow up multiple times. The provision of viewing medical records is a handy feature for patients and doctors only." 
Prasanth Manghat, CEO and executive director of NMC Health, said: "Healthcare service-oriented companies always wish to remain in touch with their patient base. The very nature of the industry is such that you constantly need to have a bilateral conversation with your patients to educate them and ascertain their health status."
"There has been a paradigm shift from Web browsing - where a user is required to launch a Web browser, enter a URL and wait for the site to load - to mobile applications, where it takes a second to launch a mobile app because majority of the information is stored in the application itself, making it possible to function offline. Every minute is vital when it comes to saving precious life."

These drivers of convenience and increasing demand for products and solutions that help to simplify lifestyles are having an impact across a myriad of industries, particularly the highly consumer-dependent fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The Nielsen report illustrates consumers' grocery and packaged goods product choices are underpinned by their experiences in three areas: shopping, consumption and brand engagement.

The evolving demand for convenience has given rise to a slew of life-simplifying products, such as ready-prepared and on-the-go meal solutions, home or office grocery delivery offerings, and tech-driven "on-demand" services.

Almost one-third (31 per cent) of UAE consumers use restaurant or meal delivery services. Grab-and-go meals from quick-service, fast food and street vendors are also on the rise: 48 per cent of UAE consumers have visited a fast food outlet in the past six months. Lunch and dinner are the meals most likely to be substituted with out-of-home dining options, with 49 per cent of UAE online consumers opting to eat outside on a weekly basis, higher than the global average (39 per cent) and Africa/Middle East regional average (32 per cent).

Shopping experiences for global consumers are driven by an evolving retail landscape, e-commerce and omnichannel facilities. A Nielsen e-commerce study across 30 countries indicates FMCG online sales are growing an estimated five times faster than offline sales, and by 2020, global FMCG e-commerce will be worth more than $400 billion and comprise 10 per cent to 12 per cent of overall FMCG market share.

Mobile devices and digital platforms are also shaping consumer experiences and transforming brand-to-consumer engagement. Around seven in 10 consumers say they enjoy the freedom of being connected anytime, anywhere (68 per cent) while 70 per cent feel that mobile connected devices have made their lives better.

"The increased connectivity today provides multiple touchpoints for FMCG companies to interact with consumers. In order to stay relevant to consumers' changing lifestyles and evolving needs, manufacturers and retailers should continue innovating their business models to offer convenience solutions and improve engagement with consumers through personalised and authentic recommendations," said Andrey Dvoychenkov, group managing director for the Arabian Peninsula and Pakistan, Nielsen.

"It's also important to note that offering convenience solutions is not only about simplifying store formats, products, packaging or using the latest technologies for efficiency but it is also about every interaction that could make shopping a joyful experience for consumers."

"Convenience means different things to different consumers around the world, depending on their circumstances, culture, location, market maturity and access to technology," observes Ailsa Wingfield, executive director of thought leadership for global markets at Nielsen.

These are key influencers that are driving the need for FMCG companies to offer solutions that address the growing need for convenience.

"Equally important, omnipresent technology adoption is providing an ever-increasing array of consumer data, enabling greater customisation," Wingfield added. "FMCG players need to adapt to circumstances and provide integrated shopping experiences that allow consumers the freedom of greater choice of solutions that meet their needs."

- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com