Rise of E-Commerce in Middle East

Because of the evolutionary influx of modern technology and the Internet, the electronic world has come a long way. The incessant pursuit for comforts and a better standard of living has driven men to invent new things. The arrival of digital computers has given birth to the most powerful of tools to the mankind: The Internet. Literally, the Internet is defined as group of computers connected together, designed to send and receive information, to share a gigantic plethora of information simultaneously. It has become, unquestionably, an indispensible tool for the modern world.

As with every new innovation of technology, the Internet brings with it some major pros and cons. Whether it’s faster communication or entertainment, social networking or education, everything comes right at your fingertips. With these advancements, many of the daily life chores have become quite easy. As time passes, people are attracted towards the electronic world more. Shopping malls which were the center of attention of many communities have shifted to the electronic world, which means that people are only one click away from shopping. Keeping this need of improved technology in mind, there was one tremendous benefit of today’s technology that comes in the shape of E-commerce.

E-commerce is a term coined for the buying and selling of products and services via the electronic medium. It can be used for all types of businesses that involve the transfer of money through the Internet, and having your order delivered to your doorstep. Mostly, it involves business like supply chain management, electronic funds transfer, inventory management systems and automated data collecting systems. E-commerce helps make our lives easier by providing us with options online.

E-commerce is spreading like a wildfire in the Middle East. The recent statistics show a rapid growth in online shopping. According to the rise of E-commerce in Middle East infograph, there has been approximately 45% growth in online shopping. It is expected that this growth rate will increase definitely by 2015. According to the PayPal’s report, the e-commerce market in Middle East will grow from $5 billion in 2011 to $15 billion in 2015.

About 150 million people in the Middle East have access to internet while only 15% of the businesses in the Middle East have their own online presence. At this moment, the leading country in the Middle East is UAE. Although, the internet usage in the UAE is only 80% but out of that, 15% users avail the e-commerce sites and shop online. There are approximately 4.43 million buyers who buy online through e-commerce sites.

In the Middle East, e-commerce websites are quite popular. Although there are worldwide websites available there, the people prefer region-specific e-commerce websites. Moreover, with the advent of variety of e-commerce websites, there are numerous prepaid options available for the customers to avail. With the help of these options, customers can easily pay online through these prepaid cards. One of the most important websites available is Sukar.com.

There has been an increased rise in e-commerce duly noted in the Middle East. Larger companies like PayPal and Payoneer have reported that the e-commerce businesses will flourish in the coming years.