Mobile shopping on the rise in the UAE, says Awok.com

“Eight percent of shoppers accessed Awok.com using mobile phones, 18% through desktops and 2% via tablets,” reveals a study by the UAE-based e-commerce company.

The UAE ranks high on the world map of mobile penetration, which is reflected in the rise in the mobile shopping trend. Despite the bullish trend in online and mobile shopping in the UAE, the study reveals that 75% of customers prefer to pay cash/card on delivery versus 25% that opt to pay online.

A 2016 Gartner report states that about 80% of online shopping in the Middle East is done using cash-on-delivery. This makes the transaction less efficient, takes a longer time to complete the delivery and tends to have a higher return rate.

“There is great opportunity for e-commerce businesses and payment providers to work closer to offer multiple payment options that consumers in the UAE can use safely and conveniently. We have seen an increase in the percentage of customers choosing to pay online, which indicates growing trust among consumers in this sector,” observes Ulugbek Yuldashev, owner and managing of Awok.com

“Given the increasing appetite for online and mobile shopping in the country, responsible digital retailers are committed to improving systems to offer seamless and more secure online shopping processes for customers,” he adds.

The Awok.com study also highlights that online shopping is immensely more popular among men than women in the UAE with 74% of the shoppers on its website being male and 26% female, and the typical online customer is aged between 25 and 34 years.