Online shoppers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is growing exponentially, bringing the regional e-commerce market to unprecedented expansion, according to industry reports.
An AT Kearney study highlighted that the Middle East’s e-commerce sector, in particular, has skyrocketed by 1,500 per cent over the last 10 years with the GCC market leading this growth.
A separate report by, online shipping facilitator MyUS, stated that this upward trend is projected to continue in 2017 with the regional market’s total value expected to hit the $ 6.7-billion mark this year, up from $4.8 billion the previous year.
The firm mentioned that the industry stood at $3.8 billion in 2015. Excluding non-US direct retailers or spending on hospitality and e-services, the same report shows that American direct retailers have accounted for the largest percentage in the region’s e-commerce market over the recent years.
“The Middle East, and the GCC region in particular, is expected to see continued aggressive e-commerce growth in the coming years, so it’s natural that many local and regional businesses are looking for ways to help their customers have access to American online retailers,” said Ramesh Bulusu, CEO, MyUS. “This is where we can help – our expertise in logistics and shipping hundreds of thousands of packages from the US to the region makes us a perfect partner for these local and regional players.”
MyUS serves members in 220 countries and territories, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, and the UAE. Boasting over 400,000 registered members.
The company then reaffirmed that GCC states will particularly enjoy stronger e-commerce industry growth given its vibrant economic fundamentals. It added that the increasing preference of their young population with high disposable income to shop online is a great game changer and influencer in the market’s steady development in the coming years.
