New-age brand ambassadors? Why influencers make the luxury industry nervous
In this new era of social media, content creators have emerged with all the ammo. They're not just making content anymore — they're storefronts, salespeople, and strategy rolled into one. 'Retailers are increasingly investing in content-led approaches — whether through TikTok Shop, affiliate models, or influencer partnerships — because it's clear that consumer behaviour is evolving,' says Norma Taki, a retail and consumer expert at PwC Middle East. Seventy-eight per cent of consumers in the region say they discover new brands through social platforms — compared to 67 per cent globally. That regional gap, Taki notes, speaks of how much more influential creators have become in the UAE.
This shift is becoming measurable. Social commerce is projected to be more than double from $3.2 billion in 2024 to $6.4 billion by 2030, according to the 2025 UAE Social Commerce Intelligence Report. While in-store shopping still dominates across the Middle East, consumers in the region are turning to online channels more frequently than the global average — a sign of growing comfort with e-commerce, according to PwC's Voice of the Consumer report. Mobile retail alone is expected to hit $4.6 billion by 2026, per the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy. And increasingly, it's social media — and the creators driving it — powering that momentum.
'Creators are having a measurable impact on purchasing behaviour,' PwC's Taki says. 'Our survey shows that 54 per cent of consumers in the region have engaged with brand campaigns on social media, and 59 per cent have made a purchase based on an influencer or celebrity recommendation.'
Social media prowess is not just limited to mega influencers with big brand deals. The sway extends to lifestyle creators — sharing daily routines, styling tips, makeup hauls, and home setups — who've quietly become key players in how people discover and buy. It's also TikTok sellers, Instagram-first brands, behind-the-scenes editors, and freelance couriers — a growing class building full businesses off their phones. Together, they are reshaping the retail journey from discovery to checkout, often without ever setting foot in a store. 'Gen-Z, in the UAE, wants instant gratification: they discover a product on TikTok or IG Reels and expect to buy it in a few clicks,' says Máire (Mo) Morris, CEO of Morris Global Consulting, a firm with offices in Dubai, Dublin and Shenzhen. 'Creators are absolutely moving the needle, especially in beauty, fashion, hospitality, and niche wellness categories,' she adds. 'The key is the right creator — not necessarily the one with the biggest following, but the one with authentic, high-trust engagement and alignment with the brand's aesthetic and values.'
One prime example of a content creator powering this shift in buyer behaviour is Dounia Al Ibrahim, a 26-year-old Saudi-Moroccan who built her platform from the ground up after moving to Dubai. She first started gaining traction back in Saudi Arabia about four years ago, long before Love Is Blind: Habibi brought her wider recognition. By the time the hit reality TV show dropped on Netflix, she already had a substantial following.
Today, she commands a growing audience of 1.4 million TikTok followers, with over 10 million likes on her videos, plus 778,000 followers on Instagram and a growing presence on Snapchat. She refers to her loyal community across platforms as her 'Bombas'. Her content offers a mix of beauty hacks, GRWMs (Get Ready With Me), and styling videos, all with a bit of off-the-cuff honesty, which relays advice to viewers that feels more genuine than a traditional sales pitch. If there's a hair dye to promote, she puts her hair on the line. If there's a new face wash to try, she puts it to test in a video. She likens her videos to chatting on FaceTime with a best friend, where she would just casually hype up her go-to favourite beauty products or share new workout apparel she swears by.
Before her creator career, Al Ibrahim studied French literature, philosophy, and history. But after moving to Dubai, she made a dramatic pivot. 'I gave up a big luxurious lifestyle in Saudi Arabia just for my own freedom,' she said. 'So, when I came here... I had to restart my life from zero.'
Her first videos were on YouTube — in French. 'I was not really being myself a hundred per cent in front of the camera because I wanted everything to be perfect, which eventually didn't work out because it was too perfect,' she recalls. 'I realised that people really didn't like perfection.' She had to make an intentional pivot towards more personable content. When she started posting on Instagram, she had to face her social anxiety and slowly pushed herself to film in public. 'I was very shy. But with time, I challenged myself every day to grab that camera, go out in public, and start to film whatever,' says Al Ibrahim. 'I saw other people sharing their lives and thought — why can't I do it too?'
Her following didn't grow overnight. ' I was being very consistent,' she adds. 'I grew this community just by being myself, being consistent, not being lazy, working on days when I wasn't in the mood.'
Love Is Blind: Habibi wasn't the starting point, but it did help amplify her presence. The spotlight was already on — the show just made it brighter. Reality TV stardom introduced her to a broader audience and brought even more people into the Bomba circle.
That growing visibility quickly translated into brand work. In a high-end production campaign for NYX's Face Glue primer, she did more than a cameo. The ad, styled like a reality TV spoof, featured her at a chaotic dinner party with five others, including Dubai Bling star Safa Siddiqui. When a waiter dropped his tray and accidentally set the table on fire, Safa hurled a glass of water at Dounia — supposedly to help, but it read more like a shady dinner table moment. 'This is not drama, I left with trauma,' Dounia said, deadpan. Then the fire alarm went off, sprinklers came down, and Dounia's makeup began to melt. Safa, who had NYX's waterproof primer on, stayed flawless. The whole thing was absurd, dramatic, and perfectly self-aware — and Dounia leaned into it with total ease.
That same unscripted energy runs through Al Ibrahim's broader brand work, which spans skincare, fashion, and wellness. One day, she's breaking down the benefits of Neutrogena's Hydro Boost Water Gel in her bathroom mirror. The next, she's at a Lululemon event in City Walk, filming herself mid-pilates session. But her content isn't all campaigns and product shoutouts. Between paid posts are moments from her actual life — a girls' trip to Egypt with pyramids in the background, a motorcycle ride through Bali, a coffee run in Dubai. She blurs the line between lifestyle and ad — and that blending is the strategy, she says, to keep a global audience engaged. 'Now, I'm getting a huge, huge audience in Brazil. Which, you know, is crazy,' Al Ibrahim says, adding that she never imagined her content would resonate in places so far from home.
But visibility doesn't pay the bills — monetisation does. And for Dounia, turning her platform into a business wasn't overnight or effortless. 'Everything comes with a price,' she says, explaining that early on, she collaborated with brands for free just to grow a name for herself in the UAE. When brands started approaching her — often through agencies — she began setting clear rates depending on the type of content and deliverables they wanted. 'That's how it goes,' she says. 'I get my part, the agency gets their commission.'
Today, she's her own business: negotiating rates, producing content, and managing long-term brand partnerships solo. Her income comes from a mix of campaign deals, paid appearances, and ongoing contracts, mostly on TikTok and Instagram — though she notes Snapchat pays best via its Spotlight programme. She doesn't use affiliate links or TikTok Shop much, preferring instead to focus on brand collaborations that let her maintain creative control. And she's careful about who she works with: she's turned down deals that don't align with her values, particularly when it comes to alcohol or anything that is in conflict with her Saudi background.
Metrics go beyond likes and views, she explains. Many brands use custom platforms to track orders from her posts. Meanwhile, Dounia tracks success through her community's reactions. 'Just yesterday, a girl messaged me saying she had an event coming up and couldn't find the right lipstick — until she saw my post and ran to buy it,' she says.
While creator-consumer relationships often grow over time and organically, the rise of content-driven commerce in the UAE is also getting serious institutional backing. In January, Dubai hosted the 1 Billion Followers Summit, one of the largest global gatherings of digital creators, organised by the UAE Government Media Office. The summit launched Creators HQ, a media incubator, and announced a Dh 150 million fund to support local talent — a signal that the country sees creators as a real economic force.
Earlier this year, Tatum Greig, head of influencer at Dubai-based agency Bees & Honey, shared her prediction on LinkedIn: 'Dubai was about to become the most successful creator marketing hub in the world.' She pointed to compelling data — over 98 per cent of UAE residents use social media daily, and people here spend 50 per cent more time online compared to global users. The launch of Creators HQ was the cherry on top for the already hyper-engaged, highly marketable ecosystem.
But that momentum now comes with regulation. Just last month, the UAE introduced a new media law requiring influencers to obtain a media license from the Media Regulatory Office in order to conduct paid partnerships. The move formalises the industry and grants creators more legitimacy. Non-compliance could result in hefty fines.
Still, the appeal of influencer-led marketing is only growing — and that shift in consumer behaviour is exactly what makes creators like Al Ibrahim so valuable to brands. According to Taki, more than three-quarters of Gen X and millennials in the region say they're more likely to discover new brands via social media. 'That kind of shift in discovery patterns is prompting businesses to rethink how they reach and engage their audiences in a way that feels relevant and immediate,' she says.
PwC data shows that 85 per cent of consumers in the region say they're influenced by personalised ads on social platforms, far outpacing the global average of 72 per cent. As creators like Al Ibrahim build trust and drive traffic across these channels, they're not just fuelling brand awareness — they're feeding into the region's e-commerce momentum and, increasingly, its retail GDP. 'Short-form video reigns supreme,' Morris agrees. 'Reels and TikTok deliver the highest engagement and shareability.'
Of course, like any fast-growing industry, the creator economy comes with caveats. Creator-led discovery isn't without its limits. As Taki points out, 'Consumers are clearly engaging with creators, but they're also cautious.' Influencers may drive initial interest, but audiences still seek validation — whether that's through peer reviews, word of mouth, or trusted platforms. Discovery is only the beginning. 'Trust still needs to be earned,' she adds, highlighting that the long-term impact of content-driven retail hinges not just on visibility, but on transparency and consistency.
The caution is especially true for the luxury industry.
Phillippa Kennedy, a brand strategist who has worked with names like YSL Beauty, Loewe, and Viktor & Rolf, sees the UAE's creator market as influential — but still maturing, especially in the luxury space. 'Mainly in the UAE, they are seen as visibility drivers,' she says. 'But there is a shift coming. I know London-based companies who are looking to the UAE and know how to apply revenue tactics here. There are clear gaps in the market that can be easily implemented, so it's a matter of time before this shift happens.'
While creators here have proven their value in boosting awareness, Kennedy notes the luxury sector still treats influencer marketing cautiously — with fewer performance-driven partnerships and less integration across the sales funnel compared to markets like the UK or US. That's likely to change, she says, as brands start demanding measurable impact beyond reach.
While the luxury space is still catching up, outside of it — particularly in beauty — the direct impact of content creator partnerships is becoming more visible, delivering tangible retail results. Morris cites Fenty Beauty's launch at Sephora Middle East, which featured Arab creators like Noor Stars and regional beauty experts, as a turning point. 'It drove record sales and changed the perception of Sephora as a destination for inclusivity and edge,' she says. Morris adds that homegrown brands like The Giving Movement are also using creators to amplify sustainability messaging, 'driving both perception and actual sales in the UAE'.
Kennedy adds that she believes that the UAE's highly diverse population allots more creative range in luxury campaigns. 'UAE is a really interesting market for this as the retail space is still relatively new in comparison to other global markets,' she says. As so much of the population comprises expats, people look to creators they most resonate with, rather than traditional advertising, such as billboards, she adds. In luxury, this creates both opportunity and risk: creators can humanise high-end brands, but too much exposure risks eroding exclusivity. At a house like Prada Beauty, which is playful but still luxurious, creators have to fully 'embody the maison,' she says. 'Too much output is downgrading and commercial, too little and there is no visibility.'
While Kennedy admits that creators can drive meaningful spikes in product sales — especially in beauty — those results are not consistent across the board. 'There are some online creators who can shift large amounts of a specific product category, such as a fragrance, an eyeliner or a lipstick, for example,' she explains. 'But this is not consistent and cannot be relied upon for sales.'
Regional heavyweights are starting to move beyond visibility-focused campaigns in favour of strategies that drive measurable outcomes. According to Morris, groups like Chalhoub and Al Tayer are investing in creator-led conversion funnels — tracking metrics such as in-store footfall, voucher redemptions, and private shopping appointments booked through influencer links, Morris explains.
Still, many luxury brands in the UAE remain focused on awareness over conversions — a limitation shaped by structural hurdles. Licensing restrictions, limited e-commerce infrastructure, and the dominance of franchise partners like Al Tayer and Al Futtaim continue to constrain direct-to-consumer strategies and limit access to performance data.
While there are definitely more barriers to entry in the content creator space when it comes to luxury, another widely felt challenge is the mental toll of being a content creator. As Al Ibrahim's visibility grew, so did the scrutiny. 'There's a mental side to it — you have to protect your mental health twice as much as someone who isn't an influencer,' Al Ibrahim says. 'You're exposing yourself to criticism from people who've never even sat with you for coffee.' After appearing on Love Is Blind: Habibi, she found herself overwhelmed by a wave of online negativity. 'I handled it wrongly,' she admits. 'I'd go on podcasts and interviews, trying to prove I was a good person. But that's the biggest mistake you can make — if you're a good person, you don't have to go out and scream on every rooftop.'
Still, Al Ibrahim knows her time as a full-time content creator won't last forever. She's already thinking ahead — saving, investing, and planning for something more lasting. 'You build a name, and I think it's smart to use it,' she said, noting how other influencers have successfully launched businesses off the back of their platforms. She's also drawn to acting, something she's always wanted to pursue. 'Maybe one day I'll be in my own movie,' she says enthusiastically. Because in her words, 'Social media is not eternal.'
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