Our history

Built on evidence since 2017

From a Dubai start-up to a Gulf field partner in nearly a decade.

SMRC was founded in Dubai in 2017 by ex-MEMRB and GfK researchers who wanted to build a research house on its own field force and its own evidence. What began with retail audits has grown into full-service research across the UAE and Gulf.

Our history: built since 2017An ascending growth line across a timeline from 2017 to 2026, with milestone nodes lighting in sequence over rising columns of scale. Schematic illustration, not measured data.OUR HISTORYBuilt Since 2017SMRC · UAE & Gulf2017 to 2026Foundedin Dubai2017Own field forceand retail panel2019First UAE widecensus2020First censusoutside the UAE2023Gulfexpansion2025AI voicefieldwork2026
Our growth from 2017 to today, across coverage, capability and team.
Milestones

How we got here

  • 2017
    Founded in Dubai

    SMRC is established as an independent market research company by veterans of MEMRB and GfK, built on its own field force from day one.

  • 2019
    Own field force and a monthly retail panel

    We stand up a fully in-house, GPS-tracked field team and begin a continuous 1,000-store UAE retail panel, reported every month, alongside our first full-country universe census.

  • 2020
    Research broadens

    Beyond audits and census, we expand ad-hoc research: mystery shopping, customer experience, and quantitative and qualitative studies for brands across the UAE.

  • 2022
    Scaling census and analytics

    Larger full-country census programmes and a growing in-house analytics function, turning field data into decision-ready reporting.

  • 2023
    First census outside the UAE

    We deliver our first full-country census in Oman, extending our field model across the border.

  • 2025
    Across the Gulf

    Census and audit coverage extends toward Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain, with client satisfaction at NPS 94 and CSAT 97.

  • Today
    Nearly a decade, and an AI-enabled field

    Seven full-country census programmes and 49,100 outlets since 2019, a team of around 20, and AI voice fieldwork now added to how we reach respondents at scale.

Where we are now

Independent, and still built on proof

Nearly a decade on, SMRC is known across the Gulf for full-country census and for research you can stand behind. We are investing in analytics and in AI-assisted fieldwork, so we can measure more, faster, without giving up the evidence and rigour we were built on.

Be part of the next chapter

Whatever you need to measure across the UAE and Gulf, we will design it around your decision and bring you proof.

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