Emirati teens spend four times the global average

Emirati teens spend an average of $103 every week, four times more than the $28 spent by their global counterparts, a recent study has revealed.  In fact, UAE teens are second behind those in Norway, who spend $134 on average.

According to a report released by AMRB, a Dubai-based market research agency and TRU, a global teen firm that conducts research on the lifestyle, opinion, views and perceptions of Mena teens, the fact that UAE teens came out in pole position was a surprise to many.

"We were anticipating spending among local teens would be quite high - but even we were surprised to find they were the highest spenders in the world," Gagan Bhalla, the regional CEO at AMRB was quoted by Gulf News.

The study compared teen habits from three countries of the Mena region with that of 40 other countries from across the world.

The findings were based on the face-to-face interviews of 2,000 youth – UAE, 400; KSA, 800; and Egypt, 800 – between the age of 12 and 19.

The study emphasises the economic diversity within the Mena region, where on the one hand UAE teens splash all the cash and are the highest spenders, while on the other Egyptian teens spend the lowest.

Spending by Egyptian teens is way below Mena or even global averages. The Egyptian teen spends one fourth ($7) of that of a global teen. The KSA teen is comfortable with spending $56 in a week.

However, the study reveals that girls among UAE teens spend as much as the boys, which is in stark contrast to the findings of another recent study that revealed that Emirati men spend more than their women counterpart.

One similarity between the two findings is that youth spend most on clothing, followed by gadgets and entertainment.

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