Mena consumers show interest in sharing economy including online shopping

Crimson released the report so that its clients can glean consumer trends that are gaining prominence in the region thanks to high usage of social media.

Consumers in the Mena region are increasingly interested in the sharing economy, including Airbnb, and they are more amenable to online shopping but not online banking, according to a report on social media trends.

Crimson Hexagon, a US social media analytics company, on Wednesday released a report that sifted through millions of conversations in Arabic and English on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, blogs and forums in 9 countries between 2012 and 2016.

Crimson Hexagon, which counts Microsoft, Twitter and Starbucks among its clients, released the report so that its clients can glean consumer trends that are gaining prominence in the region thanks to high usage of social media, according to Chris Bingham, chief technology officer.

“Regional consumers have become increasingly interested in Airbnb, with social conversation growing 120 per cent since the beginning of 2015, but it still accounts for only a fraction (12 per cent in 2016) of the overall conversation about the local hotel industry,” the report said. “Additionally, the consumer sentiment towards local hotels is more favourable (17 per cent more positive than negative posts) as compared to Airbnb (9 per cent more positive than negative posts).”

The conversations about Airbnb are more prevalent elsewhere around the world and are more positive than here in the region, said Mr Bingham.

In the UAE, conversations around Careem and Uber were prominent, particularly since Uber’s services were halted in Abu Dhabi. Careem has signed agreements in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi that allow it to offer its services.

“Conversations associated with Uber were more frequent but were largely negative, while conversations around Careem tend to be 25 per cent more positive than negative,” said the report. “Specifically, the UAE consumers’ sentiment favours Careem (35 per cent more positive than negative) more strongly.”

Conversations around Uber in the region tend to focus more on the company as a business phenomenon rather than actual use of its service, said Mr Bingham.

Consumers in the region are open to online shopping, which dominated 75 per cent of overall conversations about shopping, but consumers distrust e-commerce because of lingering issues including sizes and delivery.

Mena consumers, however, are not as inclined to use online banking, with only 10 per cent of social conversations revolving around banking. Conversations around the topic are also associated with anger, with consumers moaning about technical issues, support and security.

As for tourism, Dubai was the most favoured destination for travel in 2016, while India also garnered more interest last year. London was the top international destination of interest among Mena consumers.

One rising trend in the region is the number of people travelling with their partners rather than their families, said Mr Bingham.

There was also an uptick in conversations around clean and energy-efficient cars, with talk about electric cars seven times more than that of hybrid cars.

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