Kantar: Saudi and UAE Gen Z go to YouTube for product reviews.
A Kantar survey released at YouTube's Brandcast in Dubai found 88% of Gen Z viewers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE use YouTube to research products and decide what to buy. YouTube also showed its first slate of exclusive regional creator shows.
The survey covered people aged 18 to 27. Of those, 79% said they would rather watch their favourite creators than studio-made shows or films, and 66% said they prefer video to text or audio when researching a travel destination. Ninety-one per cent agreed YouTube lets them go deeper into topics they care about, and the same share said it gives them content they relate to strongly.
The creator slate includes Chef & Fesh, a Ramadan cooking show with AbuRob, whose channel has more than 17 million subscribers, in which a professional chef and her husband try to recreate dishes without recipes before iftar. Azza Zarour, with 11 million subscribers, hosts Jahzen wela lesa? (Ready or Not?), a parenting-challenge show for expecting parents. Gaming and lifestyle creator sh5baar, with 10 million subscribers, will front a long-form travel series about unusual places to stay. YouTube MENA head Javid Aslanov pitched the range of formats, from Shorts on phones to full series on connected TVs, as a way to reach viewers at different points of research.
Communicate's report does not give the survey's sample size, fieldwork dates or how respondents were recruited, and Kantar's full findings have not been published. It also does not say how the creator shows will be sold to advertisers or when they air.
For Saudi and UAE brands, the numbers back what many planners already suspect: product discovery among young buyers runs through creators, not brand channels. The new slate, with a Ramadan show already lined up, gives advertisers a chance to book creator content for the season early rather than scrambling in February.
Why it matters
YouTube is selling Gulf advertisers creator-led shows, and the Kantar data suggests young Saudi and UAE buyers trust creators more than studio content.
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