
The consumer
- Consumer Profile
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The population of Egypt was over 104 million people in July 2020 and is growing at a rate of 2.28%. 42.8% of the population lives in cities, and the urbanisation rate is1.86% annually.
Most of the country is desert, so about 95% of the population is concentrated in a narrow strip of fertile land along the Nile River, which represents only about 5% of Egypt’s land area. Egypt’s rapid population growth stresses limited natural resources, jobs, housing, sanitation, education, and health care.
The median age is 24.1 years; 33.6% of the population is under 14 years, 18% of the population is between 15 and 24 years, 37.8% of the population is between 35 and 54 years and 6% of the population is between 55 and 64 years old, and 4.5% of the population is 65 years old or over. There are 1.05 men per woman. The average household size is 4.6 people; 6% of households only count one person, 30% of households count 2 or 3 people, and 43% of households count 4 or 5 people and 2% of households count 6 or more people. Women have significantly lower participation in the labour force than men (26% vs 79%) and lower literacy (65% literacy for women vs 82% of males). 80.8% of the population aged 15 or over can read and write.
Education is compulsory for 9 academic years between the ages of 4 and 14. Moreover, all levels of education are free within any government run schools. According to the World Bank, there are great differences in educational attainment of the rich and the poor, also known as the "wealth gap". Egypt has a very extensive higher education system. About 30% of all Egyptians in the relevant age group go to university. However, only half of them graduate. Many schools have poor infrastructure with around 1 in 5 school buildings unfit for use, lacking functional water and sanitation facilities. - Purchasing Power
- The Gross Domestic Product per capita (PPP) in Egypt was estimated at USD 12,250 in 2019 (World Bank). The minimum salary is EGP 2,000 per month. Egypt’s Gini index is 31.5 (World Bank). The 2020 Global Gender Gap Index, which measures disparities between men and women across countries, ranks Egypt at 135th out of 153 countries worldwide. According to estimates by the World Bank, final consumption expenditure accounted for 93.8%I of GDP in 2018 (latest data available).
- Consumer Behaviour
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Egyptian consumer behaviour has changed considerably as the country is mired in a long-term economic recession coupled with currency devaluation. Egyptian consumers have cut down on apparel purchases, reduced out-of-home entertainment and tried to save on gas and electricity. Price, which had traditionally been an important factor in purchase decisions, now takes precedence over other criteria. As such, luxury items and branded products at supermarkets are sold less and less. 71% of Egyptians now say they look for promotions while 35% of them shop less often and 17% have reduced the quantities of their grocery shopping (Nielsen Survey 2017, latest data available). Consumers also tend to consume more local product, as they are less expensive than imported products.
Consumers face numerous financial challenges, including devalued currency, high inflation and rising food prices, which have significantly affected consumer confidence and, in turn, household spending. However, while most are adapting to a more restricted shopping regimen, affluent households continue to spend. Online shopping has been hampered by low internet penetration rates, but this is projected to change soon. Young Egyptians are driving increased demand in a wide range of consumer segments.
Despite Egypt having the largest population of internet users in the MENA region, electronic commerce lags behind compared to many other Arab countries. Only 8% of internet users are reported to make online transactions. While Egypt's e-commerce market is still in its infancy, many Egyptian businesses have yet to establish an online identity for consumers to interact with them. Further developing the Egyptian e-commerce market relies on the continued online emergence of new products and services, which will provide Egyptian consumers with the goods that they need closer to home.
Service apps have been growing over the past years in Egypt-especially amongst the younger generation. For example, Egypt is the largest market in the Middle East for Uber. Moreover, Egypt has become one of the region's largest online supermarket markets for supplying and delivering groceries and other household goods. - Consumer Recourse to Credit
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Egypt has one of the lowest credit card holder ratios in the MENA region at around 9% of the population (10 million cardholders). Since 2016, banks have also been forced by the Central Bank of Egypt to limit the monthly instalments of consumers’ portfolios of loans to a maximum of 35% (40% if mortgage loans are included) of monthly net income. Nonetheless, the rate of credit card issuance is growing annually by 40%. The Central Bank of Egypt plans to increase the number of electronic points of sale around the country from 2019’s level of around 72,500 to one million by 2021 in an effort to further increase credit card usage. Furthermore, consumer lending is slowly regaining health, mortgage rates are expected to increase exponentially as more and more Egyptians consider real estate a safe investment.
With a banked population of only 32.8% (people over 15 years old, World Bank), Egypt aims to tap into the lower- and middle-income groups with micro-credit schemes as well as driving digital FinTech to improve access to finance. Egypt joined the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative to accelerate financial inclusion, which aims at the digital transformation of the country.
The low percentage of banked population in Egypt shows the established lack of confidence amongst consumers towards banking products. Prohibition of interest in Islam, elevated bank charges and other uncertainties with regard to the investments made by the banks are amongst key factors that lead Egyptians to borrow money from non-banking channels, including friends and family, which often provides them the ease of borrowing money without interest. - Growing Sectors
- Food and electronics sector (mobile phones, computers, audio and video products) are growing.
- Consumers Associations
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Consumer Protection Agency
Central Egyptian Society for Consumer Protection
Central Egyptian Society for Consumer Protection
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