Abstract:

The last decade has seen the fruits of the oil boom materialize in the form of foreign brands, satellite TV, affluence and hence shifting mindsets. A new generation has appeared. Weaned on satellite TV, they have been afforded exposure to foreign culture - a window on the world - and this has caused them to re-evaluate their traditional values and choice of lifestyle. This problem has prompted us to look at segmenting consumers - beyond the traditional models based on demographics - to psychographics, moving into the realm of examining the two facets of a person - the public and the private self and his or her behavior on these two fronts. The resulting study, Arab as Consumer 2001, was based on 44 group discussions and 44 paired friendship interviews spread across the Arabian Gulf among nationals aged 16 - 45 years, from the socio-economic classes BC1 - C2. Four typologies emerged from this qualitative study.