The UAE is leading the e-commerce revolution in the Middle East with approximately five in 10 people shopping for goods and
services on the internet, according to the latest research by MasterCard.
The Online Shopping Behavior 2013 study, which included responses from 3,000 people, showed that 51 per cent of consumers in the UAE went online to shop last year, the highest in the region
Saudi Arabia and Qatar followed closely behind with 48 per cent
The UAE is home to a tech-savvy population and has the region’s highest internet penetration and smartphone ownership rates, estimated at 71 per cent and 73 per cent respectively. The country’s e-commerce is forecast to reach $10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) in value by 2018.
The country’s e-commerce is forecast to reach 10 billion (Dh36.7 billion) in value by 2018, reported Gulf News on Tuesday
“The steady growth of online shopping trends in the UAE sheds light on the priorities of the technology-savvy new age consumer, who now enjoys the convenience, speed, value for money and safety of their transactions while shopping online,” said Aaron Oliver, head of emerging payments for Middle East and Africa at MasterCard
Overall, the Middle East’s online shopping is set for ‘exponential’ growth in the next three to five years, as more consumers embrace faceless transactions
It is also forecast that more people will move away from traditional computers to mobile devices, driving further the growth of e-commerce
