Amazon has been named the top retail company in the UAE for emotionally connecting with its customers in the latest Brand Intimacy report from MBLM.
The retail industry increased its overall emotional connection with consumers this year, ranking fifth out of the 15 industries studied.
E-commerce giant Amazon, in particular, had a strong year, having the highest increase in ranking and leading the industry for the first time in three years.
Its success was followed by Carrefour in second place, and City Centre in third. Dubai Mall, LuLu, IKEA, Noon, Mall of the Emirates, Sharaf and Jumbo rounded out the top 10.
The research showed there are varying preferences based on demographics – men prefer City Centre, millennials prefer Carrefour, while high income users most favour Amazon.
Brand intimacy is defined as the emotional science that measures the bonds we form with the brands we use and love.
“The retail category showed improvement in building bonds with consumers, although the top brand, Amazon, ranked 20th overall. Continued attention to brick and mortar and digital channels are expected in the UAE,” said William Shintani, managing partner of MBLM.
“There is still an opportunity for brands in the category to embrace emotion, leverage relationships more and create experiences that exceed expectations, delivering superior service, quality, and efficacy.”
The report also showed that 53.3 percent of users have an immediate emotional connection with Mohamed Alabbar’s e-commerce venture Noon, which is 14.5 percent higher than the industry average while 23.5 percent of users feel Carrefour is the best brand they can’t live without.
The Dubai Mall rose three places in the past 12 months to place fourth in the industry rankings while LuLu dropped to fifth, down three places from 2018.
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