Ejaz Mirza

Ejaz Mirza
Ejaz Mirza is a seasoned MR professional with over two decades of experience in consumer insights spanning India, the Middle East & Africa. He has led large-scale strategic projects for various clients and specializes in strategic brand, communication & category insights domains. At Borderless Access, he is responsible for client development and retention in the Middle East and supports teams to help develop technology and insights solutions.
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Recent Posts

Eco-Friendly Travel: How Sustainable Tourism is Taking Over

Posted by Ejaz Mirza on May 4, 2023 2:43:39 PM
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Is travel replacing retail therapy for today’s millennials?

Posted by Ejaz Mirza on Feb 24, 2023 11:52:31 AM

Although this might sound far-fetched at first, as shopping is a faster and often a cheaper way of spending one’s money as compared to travelling, however, with the recent Covid-19 crisis, the volatility and uncertainty surrounding the travel landscape and policies, the travel sector is now seeing higher consumptions.

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Topics: borderless access, ba insightz, Travel Industry Trends, Retail Therapy, Retail Therapy for Today’s Millennials, Millennials Travel, Millennials Travel Trends

In good shape: How the Middle East is exploring healthy eating options

Posted by Ejaz Mirza on Nov 12, 2021 6:38:22 PM

Facing the health crisis that COVID has provided has forced many of us to reconsider our personal well being. Coupled with this, we have been restricted to our homes, compelled to prepare our own food. Borderless Access surveyed people living in the Middle East, specifically the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, to see how these factors have affected the type of food people are eating and how people are getting this food.

A rise in health consciousness

Eliminating or reducing the amount of meat products they eat has been the most notable change in people’s diets since the start of the pandemic. Globally, 57% of people have experimented with vegan or vegetarian diets, with a further 20% saying they are consciously trying to eat less meat. Saudi Arabians follow this pattern (with a greater proportion of people opting for vegan as opposed to vegetarian meals). In the UAE there is still a dramatic shift towards meatless options, but to a lesser degree than its neighbour.

Following low-fat, low-sugar or low-carbohydrate diets has been popular everywhere, including in the Middle East, however, this group of people (especially Saudi Arabians) appear to be particularly health-conscious, with many people also trying to reduce gluten, salt and dairy products.

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Topics: consumer preference, consumer research, behavioural market research, borderless access, ba insightz, middle east consumer research, qualitative research, quantitative research, consumer habit study

Restaurants finally clawing back business after a tough year in Middle-East

Posted by Ejaz Mirza on Aug 31, 2021 8:42:37 PM
 

As Covid-19 has turned the world on its head, few industries have been as shaken up as that of restaurants and hospitality. Worldwide, restaurants and eating establishments have taken a beating as lockdown has resulted in closures, changes and restrictions to what used to be a burgeoning industry.

Borderless Access conducted research to understand eating out and ordering-in habits and how these have been shaped – both temporarily and permanently – by the ongoing global pandemic. Unsurprisingly, ordering in has been by far the most utilized activity in recent times… ordering food for delivery, ordering take-aways from a restaurant and ordering/ collecting food from a fast-food chain have been the top activities globally in the past 3 months, and both of these have been particularly well-utilized in both the UAE and Saudi.

With the changing lockdown rules, 56% of people globally have eaten at a restaurant in the past 3 months, with this number being higher in the UAE and Saudi, at 68% and 60% respectively. Ready-meals are much less common than ordering in, while fresh produce deliveries and home-meal-preparation kits are by far the least common ways of preparing food.
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Topics: consumer research, borderless access, middle east market research, middle east and pandemic, ba insightz, qualitative research, quantitative research, consumer habit study, Restaurants and fooding industry

eSports abound in the Middle East as digitization prevails

Posted by Ejaz Mirza on Jul 8, 2021 5:06:10 PM


eSports are becoming increasingly popular around the world, both in terms of participation and viewing. Borderless Access conducted research across 15 countries to uncover more about this choice of entertainment. Today, we look specifically at fans who watch others play video games and eSports in the UAE and KSA.

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Topics: esports market research, esports insights, esports viewership, esports consumer behaviour, esports consumer insights, esports viewer insights

Healthy lifestyles embraced as a result of the pandemic

Posted by Ejaz Mirza on Apr 26, 2021 10:38:13 AM

Almost two-thirds of consumers globally have become more health- and hygiene-conscious as a result of the pandemic. The Middle East certainly leads this trend with over three-quarters of Saudi and UAE consumers feeling an increased awareness of the need to look after their physical well-being.

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Topics: consumer behaviour, digital online research, middle east healthcare research, pandemic and health, healthcare research, middle east and pandemic, middle east consumer research

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