The Saudi housing market is experiencing unprecedented expansion, with the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing's (MOMRAH) latest report showing a surge in real estate investments. This growth comes as the Kingdom works towards fulfilling the Vision 2030 housing objectives, aiming to increase homeownership among Saudi citizens to 70%.

Key Highlights:

Urban Expansion: Major cities, including Riyadh and Jeddah, are witnessing a real estate boom, with significant government-backed projects that cater to the growing demand for residential properties.

Vision 2030 Goals: These initiatives align with the national strategy to diversify the economy and improve the quality of life for citizens by providing more housing options and bolstering infrastructure development.

Private Sector Engagement: Private developers are encouraged to participate in large-scale housing projects, making the real estate sector one of the fastest-growing industries in Saudi Arabia.

The Kingdom's focus on improving the regulatory environment and enhancing the urban landscape is driving investor confidence and reshaping the real estate market.

In a bid to rejuvenate interest in its flagship product, Apple has introduced the iPhone 16, featuring a suite of AI-driven enhancements. This new generation of iPhones integrates advanced artificial intelligence capabilities aimed at improving user experience and functionality.

Key Features:

Apple Intelligence: This new suite of AI tools includes an upgraded Siri voice assistant, enhanced with better conversational abilities and more intuitive responses.

AI Text Editing: Users can now benefit from advanced text-generation features that assist in drafting, editing, and refining text with greater ease and accuracy.

Photo-Recognition Tools: Improved photo-editing capabilities leverage AI to enhance image quality, identify objects, and apply intelligent edits based on context.

The iPhone 16 and the iPhone 15 Pro will both support these new AI features, signaling Apple's push to integrate cutting-edge technology into its devices. The announcement, which was previewed at WWDC 2024, reflects Apple's commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation while addressing recent sales challenges.

According to Forrester's latest “U.S. Online Retail Forecast, 2024-2029,” Amazon and Walmart are set to capture a significant share of the U.S. retail market in the coming years. If current trends continue, these retail giants will account for 25% of total retail sales and 67% of online retail sales by 2029, with their combined retail sales reaching $1.5 trillion and online sales hitting $1.1 trillion.

Key findings include:

U.S. total retail sales will rise to $6.0 trillion by 2029, with online retail sales reaching $1.8 trillion.

Online retail penetration will increase to 29% from 23% in 2024.

Amazon alone generated more e-commerce sales than the combined total of all U.S. omnichannel retailers in 2023.

Online retail sales are projected to grow at an annual rate of 8.4%, from $1.2 trillion in 2024 to $1.8 trillion in 2029.

Click-and-collect sales will reach $196 billion, capturing 29% of e-commerce sales by 2029.

Non-durable goods, such as clothing and food, are expected to see significant online growth, with penetration for categories like clothing, footwear, and toys exceeding 50% by 2029.

Durable goods categories like tools and furniture will also experience substantial growth due to their current low online penetration.