UAE e-commerce market expected to exceed $27.1 billion in 2022

The country’s e-commerce industry is expected to perform strongly over the next few years as the number of Internet buyers in the UAE continues to rise and confidence in the purchase of various online products increases, according to media news April 24.

Experts point out that consumers in the UAE, the Middle East and North Africa are enjoying many of the benefits of trading with credit cards rather than cash. The popularity of credit cards will only continue to grow, as retailers in the region want to use the popularity of credit cards among consumers to grow their businesses.




Since the early 1990s, the United Arab Emirates has been promoting the diversification of the non-oil sector. The UAE has paved the way for other countries to conduct electronic commerce activities in the Middle East, and its established results will be validated in the rapid development of e-commerce.

The development of e-commerce in the UAE is far less than in developed regions such as Europe and the United States or emerging countries such as Russia and Brazil, But as the UAE retail industry has achieved a steady shift from brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping, e-commerce has become increasingly popular among UAE consumers. Consumers in the UAE are increasingly favored for online shopping, so e-commerce has become the fastest-growing industry in the UAE.

Shahebaz Khan, general manager of Visa UAE, said: “As the world’s connectivity and consumer trust in online shopping increases, We believe that consumer spending through online retail platforms will grow significantly in the coming years. The UAE’s e-commerce market is expected to have an estimated value of $27.1 billion in 2022.”




Shahebaz Khan added: “We have seen a positive trend in the attitude of UAE consumers towards e-commerce, as part of Visa’s annual safety week, we conducted a survey to find out what consumers think about online shopping. according to the survey results, 66% of UAE Consumers Trust online shopping and 70% of consumers trust online payments. ”

Earlier, according to the Declaration (Al Bayan) reported on the March 6, International Business Watch (BMI) research predicts that by 2020, the UAE e-commerce industry will increase to $26.9 billion, accounting for 45.6% of the total market in the Middle East.

It can be seen that these two data seem to be quite close, that is to say, we can predict that the e-commerce market of UAE will be valued at $26 billion to $28 billion in 2022.



The UAE now has a population of 8.264 million and a GDP of $291.2 billion, with an average annual income of $18,290. The UAE imports $249.6 billion annually and its major trading partners are India, China, the United States and Saudi Arabia.

People in the UAE are keen to surf the internet and play mobile phones, with internet penetration and mobile phone holdings reaching more than 70% per cent, ranking first in the Middle East. MasterCard’s previous “online shopping behavior” study also showed that 50% people in the UAE would go online to buy things, the highest rate in the Middle East, and Saudi Arabia and Qatar followed 48%.

According to Visa, credit CARDS are more popular than cash. When it comes to online transactions, the UAE’s credit card payment rate is 70% in 2018, compared with 22% in 2017. Over the same period, the cash payment rate fell from 22% in 2017 to 15% last year. The Visa survey also showed that once consumers found new ways to pay, they continued to use them. 52% of non-credit card users said they might start using credit cards in the near future. Similarly, 46% of non-credit card users said they would start using e-wallets in the near future.

Currently suitable for local UAE payment methods are:

1) trriple, UAE local E-wallet company

2) CashU, the most popular payment methods in the Middle East and North Africa

3) BEAM, a wallet focused on offline payments, and nearly 3,000 merchants in the UAE are using BEAM wallets.



Similarly, MasterCard UAE and Oman general manager Girish Nanda pointed out that trading in e-commerce is growing much faster than the sales of POS machines. “We anticipate that this trend will continue in 2019 and 2020. There are two factors driving this trend. First, compared with the traditional brick-and-mortar business model, the business model of online or e-commerce sellers grows faster. Second, a growing number of retail, catering and tourism businesses are moving online.

Consumers around the world want their cards to be available on all popular platforms, whether it’s Apple pay, Google pays, Samsung paid or contactless payments. The UAE is no exception because of the growing demand for safe and seamless payments from consumers. ”




MasterCard Girish Nanda, general manager of the UAE and Oman, added: “The UAE’s online turnover has increased 6 times times since 2017. In fact, the UAE now has an online deal in every four transactions, highlighting two important trends. First, the UAE is gradually transitioning to a cashless economy; second, there is growing confidence in credit card payments, mobile wallets and new payment technologies. ”

Sanjit Gill, Middle East general manager of the Collinson Group (consumer loyalty program services), says growing customer loyalty means brands are constantly adapting and looking for ways to meet their customers ‘ needs. “Customers shop in physical stores and online, providing data at every point of contact during their browsing and purchase. Retailers can respond to this data, provided they are organized into a single customer view. If it works, then this single view can tell you what the customer wants. However, if the brand ignores the data, they could suffer losses. ”

In addition, 78% of UAE consumers are dissatisfied with their loyal brands’ poor communication on promotions and discounts.