In the Middle East and North Africa, the e-commerce market is growing rapidly

E-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa has entered an era of stable, high growth.

Data from the Digital Transformation in the Middle East and North Africa 2022 report by payment solutions provider Checkout.com proves that the accelerated e-commerce development trend brought about by the pandemic will continue in the Middle East and North Africa .

E-commerce penetration continues to mature and deepen

Over the past 3 years, e-commerce in the MENA region has grown faster than anywhere else in the world, with an estimated 209 million consumers shifting from offline to online shopping. Now, as lockdowns ease in the MENA region , the number of e-commerce consumers in the region will only continue to grow.

According to the report, 91% of respondents said they shop online frequently, up from 87% in 2021. In addition, more than half (52%) of MENA residents said they shop more frequently this year. In the GCC region , 9% of consumers said they shop online at least once a day , which is a 50% increase over the past 12 months.

This trend is set to continue, with 88% of respondents in the MENA region saying they will increase their online shopping in the next year .

Digital payments surge

Consumer interest in digital payments continues to rise, maintaining a trend seen in 2021. The report shows that 70% of consumers in the MENA region prefer to use digital payment methods , up from 60% in 2021 and 40% in 2020. In the GCC region, this number is even higher, with 80% of GCC consumers now preferring digital payment methods.

These results are largely driven by the dramatic growth of payment apps and digital wallets in the region, with 82% of consumers in the MENA region reporting using some form of fintech app by 2022, up from 76% in 2021.

In fact, the adoption of digital wallets as a preferred payment method continues to rise in the region . In particular, countries such as Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have almost doubled the popularity of digital wallets. Conversely, the use of cash on delivery in the Middle East and North Africa has fallen sharply, down nearly 40% in the past 24 months.

Mature consumer base

The continued appeal of buy now, pay later (BNPL) options and sCommerce (social commerce) to consumers has also contributed to the rapid development of e-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa .

Nearly half of consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia have used BNPL this year. Across the MENA region, 39% of consumers have used a BNPL option in 2022, up from 24% in 2021, a 64% year-over-year increase. A further 28% of consumers who have not yet used BNPL expect to use it within the next 12 months, meaning that up to 67% of consumers in the MENA region could use this method in 2023.

As the average amount of time people spend on social media continues to increase, one in five consumers in the Middle East and North Africa region say they now regularly shop through social media channels (sCommerce), a 43% increase over the past 24 months. Meanwhile, interest in social commerce has more than doubled in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, Vice President of Checkout.com Middle East and North Africa, said: “This report validates what we concluded last year that the region’s e-commerce and digital payments ecosystem is growing rapidly. In addition, regional shoppers’ growing trust in online payments means that the digital transformation of the region’s retail industry is well underway. ”

As the report shows , e-commerce and digital payments continue to develop in the Middle East and North Africa , with consumers showing a strong interest in online shopping and a desire to pay in digital currencies , the rapid growth of e-commerce in the region holds unlimited development opportunities.

E-commerce

middle East