Increasingly looking to shop online
Survey results revealed that 42% of UAE shoppers went online to shop in 2011, up from 33% in 2010, and 15% of those who haven’t already done so plan to shop via mobile in the coming months (view press release). Airline sites made up the greatest proportion of online shopping with 78% of consumers surveyed saying they prefer to purchase tickets online. Other categories in which consumers prefer to shop online include apps with 76%, coupon/deal sites with 68% and music download sites with 64%. The most popular site for making online purchases in the UAE was Emirates Airlines with 10%, followed by Cobone with 8%. Regarding mobile, 12% of those surveyed made purchases from their mobile in recent months with apps (36%), cinema (24%) and airline (23%) making up the top three categories in which consumers made mobile purchases.
“The UAE is undoubtedly the retail hub for the Middle East and it is not surprising that the country has one of the fastest rates of adoption when it comes to innovative trends such as online and mobile shopping. It is encouraging to note that UAE consumers are increasingly looking to shop online in order to capitalise on the efficiency, safety and convenience of online shopping channels,” said Raghu Malhotra, division president of Middle East and North Africa at MasterCard Worldwide.
Whitepapers
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