Global, regional tech firms’ interest in Saudi market rising: Google exec

Charbel Sarkis, Director of Google in Saudi Arabia and MENA Retail

There is an increased interest among regional and international e-commerce companies about the market in Saudi Arabia, Charbel Sarkis, Director of Saudi Arabia and MENA Retail, told Argaam.

The Kingdom presents high capabilities and ambition to create a vibrant retail environment, Sarkis, who is also Head of Retail, E-commerce, Telecom and Technology businesses in MENA, said on the sidelines of the Retail Leaders Circle.

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Saudi Arabia witnessed a qualitative leap in the retail sector over the past years, he said. The Redseer report for 2023 revealed that e-commerce sales in Saudi Arabia accounted for more than 10% of total retail sales. This growth is due to improvements in the customers’ experience, including choosing products on a broader scale, various payment options, and faster delivery.

He added that the research conducted by Google and Ipsos showed that there is an increase in the preference of Saudi consumers for local brands, which provides a new opportunity for local retailers.

Sarkis also pointed out that Google worked to support the economy and the retail sector in the Kingdom for a decade, and it is committed to helping companies of all sizes in the region to grow their businesses, through its tools supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud solutions.

He stated that his company works closely with partners in the public and private sectors to support local business growth through educational programs and infrastructure investment.

Google has launched the cloud region “Google Cloud” in Dammam to support Saudi companies, he noted, indicating that Google Cloud is investing in local talents to lead digital transformation and fill the cloud skills gap in the Kingdom.

Sarkis added that Google works to help retailers to reach consumers through AI-supported ads on both the Google and YouTube search engines as well as through the Performance Max campaign that includes all Google channels.

The company is also working on helping traders to benefit from generative AI, which supports marketing campaigns by creating high-quality creative assets and helps to take advantage of AI through the value chain for tasks such as prediction of demand, inventory management and improving user experience, he added.

The head of Google in Saudi Arabia additionally noted that the company worked to train more than 320,000 Saudis in digital fields such as digital marketing and programming, with the aim of acquiring digital skills that contribute to the success in the digital economy.

Meanwhile, Sarkis said that adopting the latest technologies such as AI to meet the advanced consumer expectations and provide new experiences is the secret of success and making use of the great capabilities and expected growth in the region.