Alpen Capital projected retail sales in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to reach $308bn by 2023, and to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4% from $253.2bn in 2018. It expected the increase in retail sales to be driven by an expansion in the region's population and a rise in tourist arrivals to the GCC. It also forecast non-food retail sales at $193.7bn in 2023, equivalent to 62.9% of overall GCC retail sales; while it projected food retail sales at $114.3bn, or 37.1% of the total. It anticipated retail sales in Saudi Arabia to reach $132.7bn or 43.1% of total GCC retail sales in 2023, followed by sales in the UAE with $104bn (33.8%), Qatar with $28.5bn (9.3%), Kuwait with $20.5bn (6.7%), Oman with $16bn (5.2%) and Bahrain with $6.3bn (2.1%). Also, it forecast retail sales in the UAE to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% between 2018 and 2023, followed by Kuwait and Qatar (+4.2% each), Saudi Arabia (+3.3%), Oman (+3.1%), and Bahrain (+2.2%). It attributed the high growth in retail sales in Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE to an expected rise in their tourism activity and of their GDP per capita, as well as to the increased penetration of organized retail stores in these countries. In addition, Alpen Capital forecast duty free sales at GCC airports to reach $4.8bn by 2023 and to grow at a CAGR of 8.8% from 2018 as a result of an expansion in airport passenger traffic for events such as World Expo 2020 and the FIFA World Cup 2022. 
Source: Alpen Capital