How Data and Automation Are Reshaping Consumer Experience in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s retail and F&B markets are evolving as e-commerce, first-party data, personalization, and consumer intelligence reshape how brands engage customers.

The Saudi retail and food and beverage market maintained strong growth in the first half of 2026, with consumer spending reaching SR425 billion ($113.3 billion) in the first quarter.

E-commerce continues to gain ground. According to Knight Frank’s Saudi Arabia Retail Market Overview – Summer 2026, digital shopping continued to gain momentum, with e-commerce spending rising 42% year-on-year.

As more brands compete for consumers’ attention, the focus is shifting from simply reaching customers to understanding them—and using those insights to create more relevant experiences. A growing group of customer experience, data, and consumer insights companies is entering the Kingdom to help businesses make that shift.

Why First-Party Data Is Becoming Critical

Increasingly, the advantage lies with companies that can combine technical capabilities with a deeper understanding of consumer behavior.

As privacy expectations evolve and digital advertising becomes more data-driven, first-party data is becoming increasingly valuable. Brands need reliable ways to collect, unify, and activate customer information across channels while maintaining control over how that data is used.

To respond to this demand, Journify, a US- and UAE-headquartered provider of AI-powered customer data solutions with technology hubs in Morocco, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, announced its expansion into Saudi Arabia in September 2025.

Its platform captures, unifies, and activates first-party customer data in real time, streaming it to advertising platforms including Meta, Google, and TikTok through server-side signals. For Saudi brands, this can translate into more measurable marketing performance, improved return on ad spend, and data infrastructure designed to operate in a privacy-first environment.

From its Riyadh office, Journify is already serving multiple brands, activating their first-party data through its AdBooster solution. In doing so, the company is supporting the Kingdom’s broader ambition to become a regional hub for marketing technology and digital innovation.

The Shift Toward Connected Customer Experiences

As customer journeys become increasingly digital, brands are moving beyond individual campaigns and channels toward more connected experiences.

Consumers now interact with brands across websites, apps, social media, physical stores, loyalty programs, and other digital touchpoints. Connecting these interactions allows companies to build a more complete view of the customer and deliver more consistent experiences across the entire journey.

One firm helping regional brands achieve this equilibrium is RAPP MENA, a personalized customer experience and communications agency within Omnicom Group’s global network.

RAPP, which opened a Riyadh office in May 2026, focuses on customer value transformation across loyalty, acquisition, retention, and end-to-end digital experience consulting.

Its enterprise offering spans experience optimization, where its MAISTRO tool maps gaps and opportunities across the customer lifecycle; lifecycle management built around first-party data strategy and CRM; AI-enabled creative and content automation; system-agnostic marketing technology and omnichannel content orchestration; and social, PR, and brand reputation management.

That breadth matters in a market where brands are moving from fragmented campaigns toward more integrated operating models. With Omnicom’s global infrastructure behind it, RAPP is positioned to help Saudi enterprises strengthen their data foundations, deepen personalization, and scale customer-centric programs over the long term.

The Growing Value of Consumer Intelligence

As brands collect more customer data, the challenge is increasingly about making sense of it.

Understanding what consumers want, why they behave in certain ways, and how those preferences are changing is becoming a critical part of effective decision-making.

This is particularly relevant in Saudi Arabia, where a rapidly evolving consumer market is creating new opportunities for brands across retail, food and beverage, entertainment, tourism, and other sectors. Companies need localized insights to ensure that personalization strategies reflect the preferences, behaviors, and cultural context of consumers in the Kingdom.

Belgium-based WHYFIVE, a consumer insights and strategy consultancy, opened its third regional office in Riyadh in January 2026, following offices in Dubai and Doha.

The firm specializes in uncovering the “why” behind consumer behavior, translating data into insights, and insights into strategic impact for brand and business decisions.

Its Saudi expansion follows long-standing partnerships with Saudi-based clients and growing demand for tailored, locally relevant strategies. The company is addressing this demand through a dedicated offering under its IMPACT advisory division.

The model positions WHYFIVE as a strategic partner rather than simply a research provider, working with brands and agencies to bridge the gap between consumer research and real-world execution.

With a local team bringing deeper cultural context to each engagement, the firm supports more informed, human-centered decision-making as personalization and digital transformation accelerate across the Kingdom.