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Some 91% of consumers in the MENA region purchased products online last year, with fashion and apparel accounting for 46% of all online purchases in the region.
One in five consumers in the Middle East and North Africa are buying more retail products online more often than last year, with 33% of consumers Shopping for fashion and clothing online is more frequent.
Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, Mena’s Vice President of Commercial at Checkout.com said: “If our nearly ten years in the region have taught us one thing, it is that it is impossible to underestimate the potential, dynamics and Dynamic. A region of change. It will become increasingly important on the global stage.”
retail
Paul Carey, Executive Vice President, Cards and Payments, Al-Futtaim Group, observed that retail on the digital wave points to a fast-growing digital ecosystem that enables government agencies, established companies and start-ups to thrive.
“This is particularly evident in the payments space, where the government has established a regulatory sandbox infrastructure and made it easier for businesses in the region with more flexible visa options and business permits,” he added.
food and drink
While the pandemic has forced consumers away from their favorite restaurants, it has opened up Mena’s appetite for home delivery. According to Checkout.com, by 2022, local consumers will be ordering food online more than ever before. More than half (53%) of MENA consumers have bought groceries online in the past year, with 42% of MENA consumers saying they are buying groceries online more often this year than in 2021 .
The online food ordering industry has many moving parts that need to come together in every transaction, from restaurants to drivers to aggregators to payment providers. As such, Ramzi Alqrainy, CTO of The Chefz, a leading Saudi food delivery app, noted that close collaboration is crucial for many stakeholders. “Collaboration allows us to innovate effectively and reach and serve society in the most inclusive way possible. Today, one vendor doesn’t need to manage all aspects of the consumer experience from start to finish. We all need to work together. It’s ownership demise,” Alqrainy said.
Travel and entertainment
While a decline in travel and live entertainment sales is inevitable in 2020, surveys suggest the industry is regaining momentum and making its presence felt in the digital economy while continuing to grow.
According to Checkout.com survey results, 20% of consumers in the MENA region have purchased entertainment services online in the past year, with 14% of consumers saying they are buying more frequently now than in 2021.Additionally, 32% of consumers have purchased travel services online in the past year, with 21% saying they are buying them more often now than in 2021
Alexandre Morin, Director of Payments – Risk and FinTech at Wego, the region’s largest travel market, said: “MENA has become a priority market for many world tourism boards as it is a reliable source of long-stay tourists with excellent spending power.”
The continued growth of fintech
Remittance apps remain the most widely used form of fintech in the Middle East and North Africa, but adoption is growing as other products are added, according to the survey. The report found that 82% of MENA consumers will use some form of fintech application by 2022, up from 76% in 2021. Innovation is underpinned by solutions such as Visa’s Account Funds Transaction (AFT), which withdraws funds from accounts and spends them on prepaid cards, top-up wallets, or fund person-to-person (P2P) money transfers. “The safe, secure and speedy movement of digital currencies between individuals, businesses and governments is the engine that drives today’s global economy,” said Dr. Saeeda Jaffar, Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager, GCC, Visa.
Meanwhile, half of consumers in markets such as KSA and the UAE have used the buy now, pay later (BNPL) option this year, and as many as 67% of consumers in the MENA region say they are likely to use it in 2023. In the cryptocurrency space, 55% of 18 respondents – 35-year-olds in the UAE and Saudi Arabia – expect to be able to use cryptocurrencies or stablecoins to pay for goods and services within the next 12 months. “Previously, retailers viewed BNPL as an alternative payment method and often compared BNPL services to other payment providers, causing downward pressure on rates. However, we are seeing retailers increasingly focus on overall growth, including marketing , customer experience and product maturity. So we see a win-win, sustainable partnership model,” said Sargun Bawa, vice president of growth at Tamara, a local BNPL platform. — trade arab news agency
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