Saudi Arabia’s ambitious program to transform the economy and wider society appears to be having an effect on the country’s consumer and retail market. Five years ago, there was no such thing as a tourist visa,1 for example, and the entertainment sector was limited. Yet in 2023, around 27.5 million foreign tourists visited Saudi Arabia2 and 20.0 million people attended Riyadh Season 2023, an annual festival launched in 2019.3 Today, it’s one of many vibrant cultural and sporting festivals held around the country each year.
But there is still potential to expand the nation’s consumer and retail market. Here, we describe ten of the most important consumer changes under way, examining both their magnitude and timing and distinguishing between what is certain and what remains less clear (for the time being) in a few cases. The findings emerge from extensive McKinsey research4 into the potential of the Saudi consumer and retail market and could prove key to building strategies capable of capturing the growth opportunities that lie within the market.
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