MENA's consumers search for emotional connection, not features

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor

Consumers across the Middle East and North Africa are no longer simply choosing between products; they're navigating an overwhelming number of options. And according to new research from Google's MENA consumer insights study, that decision-making process is becoming increasingly difficult. Nearly half (41%) of shoppers say making a purchase today is harder than it was five years ago.

Researchers point to a flood of competing touchpoints, advertisements and online options that leave buyers stuck in the "messy middle" of the purchase journey, where emotional triggers, more than product features, often decide the outcome. For brands, that means winning customer loyalty is becoming less about product features and more about building meaningful connections.

That shift is reshaping how manufacturers compete, agrees John Hardy, CEO, Panasonic Middle East & Africa. "There isn't a radical difference between anything on the market today," Hardy said. "What is differentiating is how to engage with the customer emotionally, so they connect with your brand."

Today's consumer, he said, wants an immediate answer to a problem rather than a lengthy back-and-forth. "They want you to tell them, this is what I'm going to do to fix it," Hardy said.

On the business outlook for the Middle East and Africa, Hardy struck a cautiously optimistic tone, saying Panasonic is forecasting double-digit growth for the fiscal year. He said that geopolitical disruptions in the region had rattled both supply and demand, with sales initially collapsing across the GCC and volatility spreading into African markets as the conflict's effects took hold. Since then, he said, the recovery has been steady, with week-on-week growth returning across several markets.

Hardy added that markets will continue to evolve because the population's evolving, society's evolving, social spaces are evolving, everything's evolving. The harder question, he says, is whether supply chains are robust enough to keep pace with that demand at competitive prices. Rising logistics costs are already pushing manufacturers toward price increases, Hardy acknowledged, even as companies try to keep any increases modest.

"We're monitoring business data coming from each country weekly," Hardy said, noting that Panasonic has so far focused on adjusting promotional activity rather than announcing formal price hikes in the market. "We haven't specifically at this moment in time increase price. And looking at how can we do something else to minimise the impact on the consumer."