Top Emerging Customer Experience Trends in the Gulf Region

We are pleased to share this guest blog post written by Aishwarya Barjatya, Practice Director at Everest Group, a global research firm.

Read on to explore the emerging CX trends transforming the Gulf region’s customer experience (CX) landscape. This expert analysis highlights how AI-driven hyper-personalization, omnichannel strategies, and sustainability are reshaping customer interactions. Learn how businesses in the Gulf can leverage these trends to meet evolving consumer expectations, harness innovation, and create seamless, customer-centric experiences.

With the advent of generative AI (gen AI), the world now stands on the precipice of a new era, characterized by a more demanding generation of customers, more conscious enterprises, and continuously evolving technology. Impacted by all of this, the Customer Experience Management (CXM) industry is experiencing shifting trends, which are exemplified in the Gulf region, due to the dynamic changes occurring therein.

Enterprises are eager to capitalize on the new opportunities that the shifting Gulf landscape offers. Some of the broad trends that the Gulf is experiencing are:

Growing tourism:

To promote economic diversification and to reduce oil dependence in the Gulf region, the governments in the Gulf have been increasingly focusing on tourism and travel, leading to an influx of people from diverse cultures and an increase in visitor spend.

Multiple international events such as GITEX Global 2024 and the Qatar International Food Festival also aim to attract tourists from all over the world

Participation in sustainability conversations

The Gulf is set to play a prominent role in the climate change and environmental sustainability conversation in the coming years. The launch of the UAE’s Net Zero commitment by 2050 sets the stage for the Gulf’s participation in environment sustainability actions, with the UAE being the first among the Middle Eastern and African (MEA) nations to set such a target

Increasing smartphone and internet penetration

There has been a rapid growth in smartphone adoption across Saudi Arabia, where internet penetration is expected to reach 97% by 2025.

Similarly, both UAE and Kuwait are also experiencing a sharp growth in smartphone adoption

Growing prominence of African nations

Well-established North African countries such as Egypt are attractive delivery locations for customer experience (CX) services, due to their proximity to continental Europe and the UK. Additionally, the hourly agent rate in Egypt ranges from US $10-12 per hour, which is up to 50% less than rates in the UK and other European locations. Egypt is home to a multilingual workforce of approximately 250,000 full-time equivalents (FTEs), capable of supporting over 20 languages in both voice and non-voice business process services. Furthermore, various government initiatives such as Egypt’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Egypt Builders Initiative (DEBI), which was launched in 2020, as a scholarship program, and ICT 2030, in which Egypt is set to invest over $3bn in to improve infrastructure, digital transformation, and training programs for capability building, enhance Egypt’s attractiveness in the CXM space. A growing diverse workforce, technological advancements, and the need for cost efficiencies, also position other upcoming North African countries such as Rwanda and Ghana as attractive delivery locations for CX services. These locations also offer an opportunity to meet impact sourcing goals.

Exhibit 1: AI policies and initiatives shaping the CXM industry in the Gulf

Hence, businesses in the region are focusing on providing innovative solutions, catering to the changing consumer expectations amidst the technological advancements taking place. Some CX trends anticipated to shape the CXM industry in the Gulf are:

AI-driven hyper-personalisation:

Constant engagement and speedy responses are no longer enough to retain customers. Customers are looking for businesses that can personalise and build a relationship with them. The UAE has also established its National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031, wherein it aims to develop AI technologies across multiple industries and adopt AI across customer communications. Tools and solutions powered by AI that utilize vast pools of data to provide hyper-personalisation, contextualisation, and understanding of linguistic nuances with a human touch, are expected to become the key differentiators for businesses while they engage with customers.

Omnichannel experience:

Increased access to smartphones and internet availability opens pathways to leverage mobile experiences. With most of the population having access to smartphones and the internet, mobile / digital marketing and digital experiences will present opportunities for growth and outreach. Rampant penetration of the internet has led customers to access a variety of new services, such as telehealth and on-demand services such as food delivery and ridesharing, which were unavailable until now. Customers will continue to look for more integrated and seamless experiences for engagement and interactions across multiple touchpoints.

Accent neutralization, translation, and transcription:

With an increased focus on travel and tourism, technologies focusing on accent neutralisation, language translation, and transcriptions, seem to be natural CX trends on the cards. Increased cross-pollination and tourism will also provide an opportunity for enterprises to serve customers from varied cultures who speak diverse languages.

Sustainability:

With the participation of the Gulf in multiple climate change initiatives such as the COP28, which was held in the UAE in 2023, enterprises are looking for solutions that are aligned with their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainability goals. Businesses will now be encouraged to have more accountability and differentiate themselves through sustainable solutions.

Growth of non-voice channels:

As the gen Z population takes up the role of a customer, non-voice channels are projected to witness a significant increase in demand. This provides a tangible growth opportunity to develop and leverage non-voice channels such as AI-powered chatbots. The widespread use of smartphones will broaden opportunities to interact with the customer through a variety of mediums, such as social media, video, chat, and other applications.

Responsible AI:

Even though the benefits of AI have been experienced across industries and domains, it is paramount to understand the limitations and challenges that it brings. Just how a world without AI in the future is unthinkable, it is also unwise to function without responsible AI. Unchecked AI can lead to biases, illogical responses, and harmful outputs, impacting the reputation and credibility of businesses. Having AI as a part of the customer experience will no longer be a differentiator, rather having AI that is credible and responsible will be an indicator of leading businesses.

AI policies and initiatives shaping the CXM industry in the Gulf

Saudi Vision 2030

This government program aims to enhance Saudi Arabia’s image in the global arena as a data-driven economy by unifying national efforts and initiatives towards AI.

UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031

This strategy encourages building an AI-friendly ecosystem and accelerates AI investments by public and private sectors. Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) has also come up with a strategy to develop services and products to provide enhanced customer experience while harnessing data, advanced analytics, and futuristic insights.

Kuwait Vision 2035

This strategic development plan encourages the government to leverage AI to boost economic growth. AI is set to be utilized for productivity enhancements, innovative products and services, and to shape employment opportunities.

Qatar’s National AI Strategy

This endeavor aims to embrace an “AI+X” future where AI permeates through multiple facets of life such as health, entertainment, business, education, and research. This strategy sets out to invest in homegrown AI solutions, AI education, and harness the power of AI to drive innovation. This initiative encourages AI-driven business, AI augmented jobs, and skilled talent, while emphasizing the ethical use of AI.

With evolving times, it is only natural that the geographic and cultural trends of the Gulf will shape the CX industry in the region. It is crucial for enterprises in the Gulf, and for those looking to expand in the region, to be mindful of these trends to align with the transformative changes occurring in the region and position themselves for long-term success.

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