BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AS A MARKET DRIVER FOR THE PERSONAL CARE BRANDS: CASE OF THE MIDDLE EAST

This study explored the usage and benefits of business intelligence in personal care industry of the Middle East. Business intelligence is driving the placement of brands to be a part of consumer’s consideration set. Generally Saudi Arabia and UAE are considered the leading Gulf Corporate Countries (GCC) in skincare and cosmetic consumptions due to several factors including population, climatic, urbanization, tourism and high-volume of resided expatriates. The authors have focused on the integration of business intelligence in communication, influencers-marketing, trending ingredients and market adaptation. The critical review is being followed by quantitative data to support the findings. The research was conducted on 150 sample-size in five different countries (Oman, Bahrain, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia and Qatar) within five-month span. The online questionnaire utilized the random convenience sampling technique to obtain first-hand analysis as well as ordinal and nominal scale with additional open-ended questions. The questionnaire results highlighted Middle Eastern consumers’ motives when selecting skin/personal care products according its social-media popularity, trend, and real-time results. The survey analysis has provided a valuable insight to cosmetic brands in terms of consumers’ habits, choice, and demographics to invest and explore new market segments intelligently. The findings empathized the trends that the leading cosmetic brands should follow for updating the ingredients and enhance product transparency to achieve client loyalty. Moreover, being gender-natural is one of the key-factors in adapting today’s cosmetic global market. The present findings have supported the prior, however limited research that the heuristics side of any decision taken based on datamining cannot be guaranteed unless the potential segment can relate to the same. The pioneer brands in the personal care industry proposed the revamping of competitive advantage based on business intelligence on a regular basis. The present study is a novel attempt in the proposed area as no literature is available for the personal care industry in the Middle East region in terms of an empirical research. Finally, the recommendations have been divided into various subsections including Diversification and inclusiveness, Product Strategy, Prioritize transparency, Product Sustainability and E-Commerce and Technology.