Middle East Eye:

The latest edition of an annual Trust Barometer report from public relations firm Edelman underscored how sharp divides over the war are causing consumers across the globe to take a stance with their wallets.

More than one in three people say they are boycotting a brand viewed as supporting a side in Israel's war on Gaza.

The survey polled 15,000 consumers across 15 countries, including France, Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US.

Saudi Arabia saw the highest number of respondents, 71 percent, saying that they were boycotting brands over their perceived support for one side.

In the UAE, 57 percent of respondents said they were boycotting brands over the war.

In Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, more than one in two people also said they were boycotting brands.

Consumers in the Gulf region have long been a prize for Western corporations because their young populations have relatively high purchasing power. Their oil and gas-producing economies have not been hit by wars and crises like other Arab states since the Arab Spring.

Consumers in Oman, a key Western partner, have been boycotting western goods over the support the US and its allies have provided Israel. They have switched from drinks like Mountain Dew to Kinsa, a Saudi drink brand. In Pakistan, local brands have started producing local products to replace western soft drinks and cosmetics.

The poll also picked up on rising consumer nationalism in Gulf states. The number of respondents in Saudi Arabia and the UAE saying they are buying their country's brands over foreign ones jumped 13 and 10 points, respectively.

[RT]