Apple confirms online, physical stores in Saudi Arabia for first time
Announcement comes day after Apple revealed plans for new UAE store
Dubai: Apple will have its online store in Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2025, as the US tech giant expands its retail footprint in the Gulf after confirming it will add another UAE store, this time in Al Ain.
Starting in 2026, Apple will launch physical stores in Saudi Arabia, signalling a major vote of confidence in the biggest GCC marketplace. There had been lots of talk that Apple was close to signing a deal in the Kingdom, and now those have indeed come to fruition. Currently, the Saudi market is served through Apple partners.
As part of the expansion, Apple is in the initial stages of a retail store in Diriyah, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Apple has not identified which Saudi shopping destination will get to host the first Apple store in 2026.
Among the new Saudi openings, there will be an 'iconic store at the stunning site of Diriyah coming later', said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “Our teams are looking forward to deepening our connections with customers, and to bringing the best of Apple to help people across this country explore their passions, build their businesses, and take their ideas to the next level.”
Our teams are looking forward to deepening our connections with (Saudi) customers, and to bringing the best of Apple to help people across this country explore their passions, build their businesses, and take their ideas to the next level
The online store, which opens Summer of 2025, will offer customers across Saudi Arabia 'new ways to shop Apple’s full range of products'. There will also be 'support directly from Apple in Arabic for the very first time'.
Apple’s retail expansion adds to on-the-ground initiatives such as a Developer Academy that opened in Riyadh in 2021 in partnership with the Saudi Government, the Tuwaiq Academy, and Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
And just recently, Apple hosted Saudi Arabia's first co-ed Apple Foundation Program. The month-long course allowed students to learn the fundamentals of coding and app development, with a focus on gaming. (Apple has plans to further expand the co-ed foundation offerings, with the next cohort planned for Spring 2025.)
"It was only a question of when an Apple store would open in Saudi Arabia," said a top official at one of Apple's leading retail channels in the UAE. "Saudi Arabia now hosts some of the biggest shopping destinations in the region, and new ones will be created through the giga-projects. It's a win-win for Apple and any location that hosts the physical stores."
Which Saudi locations will have bragging rights?
Apple has not provided details of where they will open the first set of stores in the Kingdom. Already, the guessing game has started as to which of Saudi Arabia's new-age malls could host Apple as one of their anchor retailers.
SR10 billion in 5 years
When the stores do open, it creates instant job opportunities. "Apple continues to invest across Saudi Arabia, spurring job creation and bringing new technologies to artists, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and commuters," said a statement from the company. "Over the past 5 years, Apple has spent more than SR10 billion with companies across the country.
"With the opening of the new metro earlier this month, Riyadh is the latest to join the list of over 250 cities where users can ride transit with Apple Pay. Riyadh is also the first city in the Middle East where users can ride the metro and buses with Express Mode, a seamless and secure way to tap and pay for transit by simply holding an iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader — no need to wake or even unlock the device." Apple Pay offers security and convenience, and since its launch in Saudi Arabia in 2019, many Saudi customers have stopped using their plastic cards entirely.
In the UAE, Apple has four physical locations, two each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and one opening in Al Ain.
Apple Pay offers security and convenience, and since its launch in Saudi Arabia in 2019, many Saudi customers have stopped using their plastic cards entirely.
Tech gets full focus in Saudi Arabia
The ongoing Saudi economic expansion has been about launching an airline (Riyadh Air), building resorts and hotels, and creating landmark destinations, such a new downtown in Riyadh in the form of Murabba. There are also the 'smart cities' that will form part of the Saudi game plan.
But technology, hardware and software, are also getting its due, not least in the form of a $100 billion tech hub in Riyadh called 'Alat'. It forms part of the Saudi wealth fund PIF's stable.