How shopping online in UAE is a blessing for UAE locals?
27 Mar 2015

“Technology won’t replace teachers but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who do not.”

According to the latest research by MasterCard, the United Arab Emirates is leading the e-commerce revolution by a storm and at least 5 out of 10 people shop for goods and services on the internet.

 

Online Shopping Behavior Study 2013

The Online Shopping Behavior 2013 study was conducted by MasterCard and included responses from at least 3,000 people. When the study was concluded, the research indicated that 51 per cent of consumers residing in the UAE went online to shop for their necessities last year. This percentage was highest in the region. Following UAE, closely behind was Saudi Arabia and Qatar which had a percentage of 48%.

 

E-commerce Growth in UAE

Within the UAE resides a highly tech-savvy population which holds the region’s highest internet penetration coupled with highest smartphone ownership rates estimated at 71 and 73 per cent respectively. It is forecasted that the e-commerce growth will boom and reach a staggering value of $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) by the year 2018.

 

MasterCard’s Plans

Aaron Oliver, the head of emerging payments for Middle East and Africa at MasterCard has responded to the situation by saying that the steady rate of growth in the online shopping trends of the technologically literate population of United Arab Emirates signifies that the customers enjoy convenience, speed, value of money and the safety of their transactions.

Analysts have predicted that the Middle East’s online shopping trend is set for an exponential boom and growth in the coming years as consumers begin embracing faceless transactions. It is also anticipated that people will sway away from traditional personal computers in favor of handheld mobile phone devices which will trigger a further increase in the growth of e-commerce industry in the Middle East.

Aaron Oliver further said that providing the consumers with a wide array of options will play a pivotal role in allowing online transactions to gain more traction. Just like Google Wallet and Apple Pay, MasterCard has also introduced a digital wallet named as MasterPass which allows consumers to make purchases both on the internet and physically in stores.

Oliver predicts that allowing people with more ways to make payments will greatly increase the likelihood of their transactions. He stated this while addressing reporters from Middle East in a video conference on Tuesday.

 

PayPal’s Analysis

According to recent analysis by PayPal, the value of online sales in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is expected to increase to $15 billion by next year. The market saw a growth of 29% from $7 billion in the year 2011 to $9 billion in the year 2012. The amount of purchases made from smartphones which represent a total of 10 percent of Middle East’s e-commerce is also expected to double in the next year.

According to MasterCard’s study, online shoppers are mostly spending their money on buying leisure items like accessories, books, CDs, DVDs and on availing travelling tickets and related services. In the UAE, shoppers mostly navigate to websites like Souq.com and Cobone to make their online purchases.

“What new technology does is create new opportunities to do a job that customers want done.” (Tim O’Reilly)

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