An Arab Advisors Group survey of Saudi Arabia’s Internet users revealed that around 39% of the adult Internet users in the country buy products and pay for services on-line through e-commerce services.
A new major survey of Net users in Saudi Arabia was concluded by the Arab Advisors Group in January 2011. It revealed that around 39% of adult Internet users in Saudi Arabia buy products and pay for services on-line.
The Arab Advisors Group conservatively estimates the number of these users to be around 3.1 million – around 12% of the total population. These e-commerce users spent an estimated $3b buying products and paying for services through e-commerce transactions in 2010.
The survey also showed that out of the respondents who have a fixed broadband connection (WiMAX or ADSL) at home, 18.6% share it with their neighbours. And the survey revealed that WiMAX operators had a 9.3% share of residential broadband Internet accounts in the country.
According to Mohammed Al Shawwa, Arab Advisors Group Research Analyst, “Due to the practice of broadband account sharing by households, the Arab Advisors Group estimates the number of households with broadband connections in Saudi Arabia to be around 1.97 million by the end of 2010 – an effective broadband penetration rate of 7.68% and an effective households’ broadband penetration rate of 43.76%.”
