The year 2019 has certainly been a decisive spike in the timeline of global e commerce platform. The tides of global trends have had an impact in UAE, Middle-east in general. According to various surveys and reports, 2019 is hailed to be the year of online shopping in the UAE. With the rapid growth of e commerce players and consumers adapting to the system, the opportunities and benefits in the domain is infinite.

The citizens of UAE have been reluctant to the online payment, as building trust in Arab soil wasn’t easy.
But with the amenities and benefits of online shopping and digital payments, it’s hard to hesitate for long.

Since, UAE is a sleeping giant with enormous potential at stake; the conventional big players have set eyes on providing online shopping portals to tie their loyal customers.

There are several factors that fuel the growth of E commerce in the Middle East:

High Frequency of Digital gadgets and Internet

With an astonishing world record high of 210.9% mobile penetration, the citizens of UAE has embraced digital transformation with both hands. This has paved way for the establishment of other subsidiary digital platforms. It is believed that with the world more connected and consumers’ trust building on online payments, e-commerce arena is yet to see the biggest revolution in global economy.

The Government Initiative

The Govt. has their share of hand in building trust in online commerce, by providing e-govt. initiatives where integrating paper based processes with secured online payment methods. This has been a catalyst for the public to get familiar with online commerce and payments without worrying.

Emergence of E wallets

The emergence of e wallets comes with the penetration of mobile phones. E wallets allow customers to pay faster and conveniently. This also helps banks to monitor the spending trend of the customer and thereby filtering frauds. The big players in the industry have realize the potential and implemented their own native wallets. Google pay, Samsung pay and Apple Pay entering the scene along with local players like Etisalat Wallet and Beam Wallet, as well as local banks.

UAE Vision 2021

Digital and cashless payments have been identified as the top priority in Vision UAE 2021. The government has made proactive steps to cultivate a soft money culture and establish a digital architecture.

Social Media Platforms

The tech-savvy generation very much active social media users, and they are keen on commercial branded items. The marketing strategies pitched by the pool of social media platforms are swaying. The social media platforms have now integrated with e-shopping portals, which show the appeal of   e-commerce.