Latest news with #personalisation
Arabian Business
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Arabian Business
UAE emerges as hub for limited-edition luxury cars amid wealth influx
The influx of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs) into the UAE from around the world has set off a personalisation-based trend in the ultra-luxury auto sector in the region, with wealthy buyers demanding vehicles that reflect their status, cultural identity, and individuality through bespoke creations and limited editions, industry experts said. The market is also seeing a major shift in buyer profiles, with younger purchasers – often successful entrepreneurs or upwardly mobile executives in the 18-29 age bracket – emerging as the new demand setters with frequent vehicle changes and upgrades, displaying their success through highly customised, ultra-rare vehicles. Adding to the new excitement for market players is the trend of women increasingly becoming influential in this segment, with direct purchase decision-making as they occupy more senior professional positions. 'Personalisation has of late become the defining element of the ultra-luxury automotive experience [in the UAE],' Christophe Caïs, Founder and CEO of CXG, a leading data-driven consulting and solutions provider for premium and luxury brands, told Arabian Business. 'The new set of UAE buyers specifically expect premium features, customised interiors, and climate-specific adaptations,' he said. Industry insiders said the region's favourable road infrastructure, lower vehicle costs, and accommodating tax policies add to create an ideal environment for ultra-luxury vehicles to thrive. SUVs dominate due to their versatility in both urban environments and challenging terrain, they said. The segment's newfound market drivers are evidenced by substantial investments in increasingly immersive retail experiences, with Dubai seeing the opening of the world's largest independent McLaren showroom and the inauguration of a Rolls-Royce showroom. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Dubai (@rollsroyce_agmc) Luxury car market trends Market players said the luxury automotive sector in the UAE – as well as in the wider Middle East – is also seeing distinctive preferences compared to other global markets. While European and Asian buyers increasingly prioritise fuel efficiency and environmental considerations due to regulations and social norms, Middle Eastern customers embrace bold displays of wealth and performance without social stigma, they said. Caïs said their clients demand vehicles that reflect their status, cultural identity, and individuality through bespoke creations and limited editions. 'This trend has reached extraordinary levels – from Rolls-Royce's diamond-infused paint finishes to Ferrari's Gulf-inspired special editions featuring regional design elements like beige leather interiors with golden embroidery,' he said. Caïs said nearly every ultra-luxury manufacturer now operates dedicated personalisation divisions, with programmes like 'Q by Aston Martin' and 'Rolls-Royce Bespoke' seeing 100 per cent customisation rates for certain models in the region. Industry observers said the fundamental driver of the current shifts taking place in the region's ultra-luxe auto sector is emotional resonance. Middle Eastern buyers want vehicles that represent their unique identity, expressed through bold colour choices, precious materials, and intricate details that ensure absolute uniqueness, they said. The shifting preferences, driven by unique regional preferences, economic strength, are projected to help the ultra-luxury automobile market in the UAE and wider region to grow at a steady close to 5 per cent rate through 2032, from the estimated over $20 billion in 2024. Luxury EVs gain momentum in UAE, KSA, wider Middle East Sector experts said electric vehicles are fast gaining traction in the ultra-luxury segment in the region, though adoption remains in early stages in some of the markets. Established brands are introducing electric flagship models, such as the Rolls-Royce Spectre and the upcoming Ferrari Elettrica, while Chinese EV leader BYD, though yet to make a mark as a luxury auto player, is making inroads into the segment with its Yangwang and Denza brands. Developments such as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) investing in Lucid Motors to establish local manufacturing in Jeddah and the UAE's aggressive push on expanding charging infrastructure, offering tax incentives, are also aiding uptick in EV adoption in the region. Caïs said the next 2-4 years promise continued growth with electric vehicles playing an increasingly central role in the region. 'Asian luxury brands like BYD will intensify competition, while autonomous driving will gradually penetrate the segment – primarily in limousine-style vehicles rather than sports cars, where the driving experience remains paramount,' he said. The CXG chief executive, however, said to maintain a competitive edge, brands must differentiate through elevated customer experiences that make clients feel part of an exclusive community. 'The real battleground, however, will be after-sales service. Over-the-air (OTA) software updates and AI-enabled deeper customisation through technologies like 3D printing will become critical differentiators, with brands implementing robust service strategies best positioned to capitalise on regional momentum,' he said.
The Guardian
08-05-2025
- The Guardian
Guardian app and homepage get major upgrade to showcase breadth of journalism
The Guardian has today launched a revitalised version of its mobile app, and a new design for its homepage, to offer a more engaging, personalised, and seamless news experience for readers. The new design puts mobile first, responding to the needs of 75% of Guardian readers who visit the website via a mobile device. It gives greater prominence to the very best of Guardian journalism, ensuring its readers can find its most distinctive and impactful work as well as keeping up to date with the latest, trusted news. By making it easier for audiences to discover, return to and explore a wider range of content, these changes serve to further strengthen the Guardian's relationships with its audiences. Key features of the app include: More personalisation: an improved My Guardian function allows readers to follow topics, manage saved articles, and customise their homepage experience. Enhanced audio experience: a dedicated podcast tab highlights the Guardian's acclaimed audio journalism; users can also listen to articles via high-quality, regionalised text-to-speech voices. Puzzles and games: a dedicated hub for popular puzzles and games, including Wordwheel, Wordiply and for the first time in the app, Sudoku. More games are due to be released later in 2025. More access: previously premium-only features including offline reading, crosswords and Discover are now available to all app users. Complementing the app refresh, a new homepage design has been launched across all editions of the Guardian website (Australia, UK, US and Europe). Visual storytelling has also been elevated, with bolder photography and a more curated layout that brings the Guardian's journalism to life with clarity and confidence. These updates reflect a broader ambition to modernise the Guardian's digital platforms, better showcase the depth and breadth of its journalism, and offer a more intuitive, rewarding experience across mobile and web. The new Guardian app is available now on iOS and Android app stores. Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News and Media, said: 'The new Guardian app and homepage mark a major step forward in how we deliver our journalism to the millions of people who read, listen to and watch the Guardian every day. Our digital relaunch is more visual and contemporary and will allow us to keep innovating and developing new ways to project Guardian journalism around the world.' Alex Breuer, executive creative director, Guardian Media Group, said: 'In the redesign of the Guardian app and homepage our priority has been to showcase the speed, depth and breadth of our journalism with the brand flair we are renowned for. We've made the layout a more dynamic design and experience. This helps our audience stay informed with independent and distinctive news and features.' Rebecca Costello, managing director, the Guardian, Australia said: 'The refreshed design and functionality of the Guardian's news app is responsive to the needs of our digital audience, who read, listen, watch and play with our content on mobile every day. We know our app audience is highly engaged. This relaunch purposefully surfaces the full range of our journalism to reflect how users engage with lifestyle reporting, food content, features, audio and opinion across the week in addition to the daily news cycle.' -END- For any media enquiries, please contact About the Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group is amongst the world's leading media organisations. Its core business is Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of one of the largest English-speaking quality news websites in the world. About Guardian Australia Launched in May 2013, Guardian Australia is a free premium digital news site in Australia. A trusted source of quality Australian news, with a particular focus on politics, the environment and social inequality, Guardian Australia offers national news coverage and has four bureaus, located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. Guardian Australia is also part of the Guardian's 24-hour global news operation, helping to cover breaking international stories in all parts of the world.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian relaunches app and updates homepage design
The Guardian has relaunched its mobile app to deliver more personalised, visual content and boost the prominence of podcasts, as part of a 'mobile first' strategy. A dedicated tab for podcasts has been introduced to help users discover and listen to new episodes via a new in-app player, while users can also listen to all articles using a text-to-speech feature. The overhaul is an acknowledgment of how central the mobile phone has now become for many news organisations. Three-quarters of the Guardian digital audience who visit daily do so using a mobile device. The app has more than a million daily active users. It also comes with media attempting to shore up a direct relationship with readers amid the increasing use of AI chatbots, which threaten to give information to users without ever delivering them to the original journalism it is sourced from. The Times also recently relaunched its mobile app. In a sign of the increasing convergence that the digital age has brought, the commercial broadcaster LBC has launched a new app that it describes as a 'one-stop destination for breaking news, expert analysis, and trusted opinion'. The new Guardian app aims to show off a wider range of its journalism. There is a new hub for its most popular puzzles – another driver of audience engagement – and a 'less overwhelming' homepage. It also reflects a trend towards different forms of journalism, with more curated selections of photography, video and other forms of visual journalism. Delivery of journalism through the mobile phone has become a clear focus for media companies, with users of apps more loyal and engaged. At the Guardian, app users have 15 times the average number of web page views. A new homepage design has also been launched across all five editions of the Guardian: UK, US, Australia, Europe and international. Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, said: 'The new Guardian app and homepage mark a major step forward in how we deliver our journalism to the millions of people who read, listen to and watch the Guardian every day. 'Our digital relaunch is more visual and contemporary and will allow us to keep innovating and developing new ways to project Guardian journalism around the world.' Alex Breuer, the executive creative director at Guardian Media Group, said: 'In the redesign of the Guardian app and homepage our priority has been to showcase the speed, depth and breadth of our journalism with the brand flair we are renowned for. 'We've made the layout a more dynamic design and experience. This helps our audience stay informed with independent and distinctive news and features.' The app is available for download on iOS and Android.
The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Guardian unveils new mobile app and major homepage redesign
The Guardian has today (Wednesday 7 May) relaunched its mobile app and introduced a new homepage design to offer a more engaging, personalised, and seamless experience for readers. The Guardian app is a premium product with 1m daily active users. To serve the needs of this highly engaged audience, the app has undergone a major overhaul, adding new features and a new homepage design as part of the Guardian's strategy to increase loyalty and engagement. App users are some of the Guardian's most active readers, with 15 times the average web page views. Available to download now on iOS and Android, the new Guardian app makes it easier for audiences to discover and explore a wider range of content, further strengthening the Guardian's relationship with its global audience. New mobile app features include: More personalisation: A redesigned and streamlined My Guardian tab allows readers to follow topics and writers that matter to them. Enhanced audio: All of the Guardian's award-winning podcasts will now be available in a dedicated tab, allowing easier discovery via the new in-app audio player. App users can listen to all articles through a new enhanced text-to-speech facility. More puzzles: A new hub featuring the Guardian's most popular games, including Wordwheel, Wordiply and, for the first time in the app, Sudoku. A refreshed design: A less overwhelming homepage with curated highlights and improved onboarding for new users. The new, refreshed Guardian app Refreshed website design A new contemporary homepage design has also been launched across all editions of the Guardian in the UK, US, Australia and Europe. The redesign puts mobile first, responding to the needs of 75% of the Guardian digital audience who visit daily using a mobile device. Our best and most distinctive journalism is now displayed more prominently, ensuring readers can easily keep up to date with the latest trusted news, while also exploring the full breadth of the Guardian's features, opinion, sport, lifestyle and culture journalism. Visual storytelling has been elevated, with a richer, more curated selection of photography, video and other forms of visual journalism. Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, Guardian News and Media, said: 'The new Guardian app and homepage mark a major step forward in how we deliver our journalism to the millions of people who read, listen to and watch the Guardian every day. Our digital relaunch is more visual and contemporary and will allow us to keep innovating and developing new ways to project Guardian journalism around the world.' Alex Breuer, executive creative director, Guardian Media Group, said: 'In the redesign of the Guardian app and homepage our priority has been to showcase the speed, depth and breadth of our journalism with the brand flair we are renowned for. We've made the layout a more dynamic design and experience. This helps our audience stay informed with independent and distinctive news and features.' [ENDS] Notes for editors Guardian News & Media press office: About the Guardian Media Group Guardian Media Group is amongst the world's leading media organisations. Its core business is Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of one of the largest English-speaking quality news websites in the world. In the UK, Guardian Media Group publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821. Since launching its US and Australian digital editions in 2011 and 2013, respectively, traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian's total digital audience. The Guardian also has an international digital edition and a new European edition that launched in 2023.
