As international gold prices soar, consumers across the Middle East and South Asia are changing how they buy, wear, and gift the precious metal, increasingly turning to lighter jewelry, digital gold investments, and old-for-new exchanges.
In Dubai, a pivotal hub for global gold trade in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), going digital has become the new trend. Locals who typically gift cash during New Year celebrations are now using smartphones to send gold in small amounts, as low as 0.1 grams, through investment apps.
In addition, users can invest in gold incrementally through the apps, with a minimum threshold of just one dirham. According to the app developers, gold prices have continued to rise over the past year, attracting more and more investors, particularly among the younger generation, into the gold market.
"People want to have a way that they can save gold that can hedge against inflation. We started our services almost (in) January this year (2025). So today we have almost 800,000 users," said Aly Abdo, chief operating officer of the Dubai-based app development firm, O Gold. The popularity of digital gold has also spurred traditional gold retailers in the UAE to adapt quickly. Many have begun offering lightweight "slimmed-down" jewelry as a response to price-sensitive customers.
"We are thinking to buy some gold for our family members, but as you can see, in the last one year, due to some reasons, the price of gold increases too much. So of course earlier we though to buy, for example, ten grams, but now we can buy only five or seven, eight grams," said a gold shopper.
"Because the [gold] things are getting lighter and we're making it more unique, so that we can introduce more customers. And in fact it actually worked. So we have a lot of customers coming this year," said Muhammed Abdul Qadir, marketing manager at Al Heseena Jewelry. In India, one of the world's biggest gold consumer markets, the gold rush is also being redefined. The end-of-year and New Year period traditionally marks a wedding season, during which gold jewelry purchases peak. But rising gold prices have pushed buyers toward lower-purity and lower-weight products.
"I used to always buy 24K gold jewelry. Now, I can only choose 18K or 14K. It's just too expensive," said Anita, a customer in Mumbai.
"Due to budget constraints, some customers can only afford very lightweight products. Jewelry makers are under real pressure. Even handcrafted pieces cannot match the quality we had in the past," said Jain, finance director of the Chandni Chowk Bullion Traders Association in New Delhi.
According to the World Gold Council (WGC)'s Q3 2025 Global Gold Demand Trends Report, India's gold jewelry consumption fell 31 percent year on year to 117.7 tonnes in Q3. At the same time, Indian gold investment soared, surpassing ten billion U.S. dollars in a single quarter, a historic high.
Gold price surge reshapes global buying habits
