E-commerce retailers: How to sell to consumers in the Middle East

The Middle East offers huge e-commerce potential for retailers willing to tap into an exciting new market.

Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Israel are all experiencing significant growth and a rise in demand for cross-border online shopping thanks to high levels of internet penetration.

Once you’ve decided to target Middle Eastern e-commerce markets, understanding the preferences of ME consumers is essential. From product choices to brand loyalty and delivery, local knowledge is key to making a success of any new destination.

Ensure the price is right

• 40% of Middle Eastern shoppers say lower prices are the main reason they shop online, so make sure consumers browsing for a bargain won’t find a better price on your competitors’ websites.

Find what sells

• Before selling to any new region, you need to do your research and ensure demand for your e-commerce business exists. In the Middle East, the most popular categories purchased online are books, music, movies and games (bought by 58% of shoppers), followed by health and beauty (48%), electronics and computing (44%) and jewellery, footwear and clothing (42%).

Build your brand

• Almost half of consumers in the Middle East said they were influenced to make repeat purchases as a result of deals and offers being sent to them and 48% engaged with promotions via social media. Understand how to reach your customers and use it to your advantage!

The Middle East has very few prominent e-commerce marketplaces; the biggest marketplace is Amazon-owned Ousq.com, with 50 million customers per year. Services like Deliveroo are popular in ME, proving demand for online services exists in the region; act fast to make the most of this emerging market.