Online spending to surge 40 percent in Middle East

Online spending in the Middle East is expected to grow 40 percent by 2020, with an estimated value of 41.5 billion dollars.

The UAE and Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) has seen a surge in online shopping, and the UAE is expected to be a key market with a total market share of 53 percent across the GCC countries followed by Saudi Arabia at 14 percent and Oman and Qatar at 12 percent and 10 percent.

At the annual Growth, Innovation and Leadership 2015 Summit in Dubai, event organiser Frost & Sullivan said the region could record the highest growth rate across the industry worldwide.

The UAE is expected to lead because it has the highest computer ownership in the Middle East with 76 percent market share, highest in internet penetration (78 percent) and highest per capita online retail spending, on par with US and EU, he noted.

In general, he said e-commerce is expected to double in value by 2020 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), contributing to about 5 percent of GDP, up from 2 percent currently.

On a global level, online retail sales are expected to reach 4.3t trillion dollars by 2025, accounting for 19 percent of the overall retail sales, according to Sarwant.

By 2020, there will be 80bn connected devices and 5bn internet users globally, Sarwant said in his presentation.

“Having such a level of connectivity will definitely lead to a different living ecosystem in the future,” said Archana Amarnath, global research manager, Visionary Innovation Group, Frost & Sullivan.