Current platform usage in Saudi Arabia:
- Instagram: Primary for fashion brands
- Temporary network: Remarkably successful with younger demographics
- Twitter: Significant for announcements and community dialogue
- TikTok: Rapidly growing notably with youth audiences
- LinkedIn: Useful for B2B messaging
Effective content characteristics:
- Image quality with local context
- Short-form video content with local narration
- Authentic peeks that personalize the brand
- Traditional occasions acknowledgment
A few months ago, a shop network spent over 200,000 SAR in conventional advertising with disappointing returns. After transitioning just 30% of that investment to smartphone advertising, they achieved a three hundred twenty-eight percent increase in customer arrivals.
Last week, a company director complained that his online presence was burning click through the following page thousands of riyals with disappointing results. After examining his approach, I found numerous fundamental problems that are surprisingly common among Saudi businesses.
After hiring three different international agencies that failed to generate results, my organization finally partnered with a local Riyadh-based marketing firm. The difference in performance was remarkable.
Key service dimensions to evaluate for placement:
- Personal basis of assistance
- Anticipation of promptness
- Physical interaction preference
- Complete difficulty elimination expectation
- Standing appreciation during assistance offering
- Clearly mark which language should be used in each input field
- Intelligently switch keyboard input based on field expectations
- Locate field labels to the right of their corresponding inputs
- Confirm that error notifications appear in the same language as the required input
As someone who has developed over 30 Arabic websites in the recent years, I can tell you that applying Western UX standards to Arabic interfaces simply doesn't work. The special features of Arabic script and Saudi user behaviors require a completely different approach.
- Use fonts purposely developed for Arabic on-screen viewing (like GE SS) rather than conventional print fonts
- Expand line height by 150-175% for enhanced readability
- Set right-oriented text (never middle-aligned for body text)
- Stay away from compressed Arabic fonts that compromise the distinctive letter forms
- Shifted product visuals to the left portion, with product details and buy buttons on the right side
- Adjusted the image carousel to advance from right to left
- Implemented a custom Arabic font that kept legibility at various sizes
Throughout my recent project for a financial services company in Riyadh, we observed that users were consistently selecting the wrong navigation elements. Our eye-tracking showed that their focus naturally flowed from right to left, but the important navigation components were located with a left-to-right hierarchy.
For a high-end retailer, we found that visual and ephemeral platforms substantially surpassed Facebook for engagement and conversion, creating a intentional reallocation of effort that enhanced total results by 167%.
After extended periods of underwhelming outcomes despite substantial promotional expenses, their revised differentiation generated a 312% improvement in brand preference and a substantial rise in revenue.
Recently, I was consulting with a large e-commerce platform that had spent over 200,000 SAR on a stunning website that was converting poorly. The issue? They had simply translated their English site without accounting for the basic experience variations needed for Arabic users.
- Created a numerical presentation system that accommodated both Arabic and English digits
- Restructured charts to progress from right to left
- Applied color-coding that matched Saudi cultural associations
A digital company completely changed their sales figures by executing a replacement approach that combined innovation with convention. This strategy increased their product interest by over one hundred forty percent.
Key prestige dimensions to consider for positioning:
- Understated indication vs. clear exhibition
- Social confirmation of status
- Achievement orientation balanced with legacy acknowledgment
- Hospitality demonstration as prestige display
- Spiritual connection of high-end acquisition
- Redesigned the application process to follow right-to-left cognitive patterns
- Developed a bilingual form system with intelligent language toggling
- Enhanced touch interfaces for one-handed Arabic input
For a international fashion brand, we implemented a differentiation strategy that truthfully resonated with traditional family values while preserving their international appeal. This approach increased their brand relevance by one hundred seventy-three percent.
Important advancement aspects to consider for positioning:
- Functional advantages emphasis over newness
- Social acceptability of digital embracing
- Conventional method improvement rather than elimination
- Ease of integration into current habits
- Household advantages presentation