As the MENA region is one that is relatively developed it is importance to understand the exact landscape of the e-commerce industry within it. These leading e-commerce categories vary in development and maturing here in the MENA region. These categories are fashion, beauty and electronics. These 3 categories are said to have the most levels of influence in the e-commerce market.
Below we will be briefly discussing these 3 product categories and their importance within the MENA region. Along with this we will note the buying behavior of customers alongside economical changes.
- Fashion
In the UAE, Fashion e-commerce is said to be valued at a whopping 3 billion dollars which is 11 billion AED in the UAE and KSA. Competition within e-commerce players has only been increasing significantly locally and internationally. Over the past 3 years the industry has been growing substantially by 20% with an average basket size of AED 393. Filters on e-commerce websites enable users to specify what exactly it is they require from that very website. On search engines it has been found that customers look up more generic products that are not as brand specific.
- Electronics
Electronics is the biggest contributor to the transformation of e-commerce in the MENA region with an industry estimated to be worth 4 billion (14.6 billion AED) in market size in the UAE and KSA in 2021. It is one of the largest ecommerce categories and is only rising with 23% annually over the past few years.
On average, MENA electronic shoppers spend AED 1285 per shopping cart. Electronics takes the medal for being the category with highest retail sales in the region. The average basket size on ecommerce websites is AED 1285 online and AED 1362 offline, this is all a contribution to the increase in the use of phones and attractive prices.
- Beauty and Personal Care
One of the most interesting categories goes to beauty and personal care. It is estimated to be worth 1.6 billion Dollars in ecommerce market size, which is AED 5.9 billion within the UAE and KSA
Ensuring that consumers trust the originality of the products sold to them is what established a foundation of trust in the online presence. This therefore resulted in an exponential trend in growth of the beauty and personal care market. Beauty is most definitely a field of potential interest in the GCC market. In the KSA, on average, the revenue per user in the segment of personal care is AED 442.28 in 2020. Given the recent pandemic, shoppers find that it is more convenient shopping online than it is buying in store it offers better product variety and attractive prices.
The industry is only growing as the years go by and that’s why it is the perfect time to enter the –commerce space within the MENA region. The market has an estimate to reach $28.5 billion (AED 104.7 billion) by the year 2022 as accounted for by menabytes.com. As the digital landscape expands, customers are longing for new shopping experiences online and a better selection of products.
E-commerce poses a completely new game in the shopping market within the MENA region. It is important that e-commerce websites adapt to user and mobile friendly interfaces in order to improve convenience and conversion rates. The beauty of it all is that any business can join the e-commerce market. There is a large demand in the MENA and it is very profitable which poses the perfect opportunity for all types of businesses.
Often regarded as the best digital marketing agency in the UAE we keep track of all the ecommerce market trends, we can help your business get kick started on your e-commerce website. Get in contact now and get a free consultation from us.
hello@themedialinks
