New opportunities! Another market in the Middle East is booming, and TikTok has taken the lead

With the rapid development of the global e-commerce market, in addition to popular markets such as Europe, America, Southeast Asia, and Latin America, the Middle East market with a scale of hundreds of billions is also quietly rising. It has now become a shining "new star" in the global e-commerce market .

As one of the most promising e-commerce markets in the Middle East , the UAE has also seen rapid growth in recent years. Data shows that the current size of the UAE e-commerce market has exceeded US$11 billion (approximately RMB 79.75 billion), with an annual growth rate of more than 12%, and is expected to soar to US$25 billion (approximately RMB 180 billion) by 2029.

In this "new market" with unlimited potential , some e-commerce platforms have already set their sights and taken the lead in making plans.

TikTok is the most popular social media platform in the UAE

In mid-to-late January, TikTok experienced a ban and temporarily suspended its services in the United States, which led to the emergence of a group of "TikTok refugees"; however, it was resumed after just one night, but it was still not available for download in the United States; on the 14th of this month, foreign media reported that the TikTok ban might be extended again, which triggered a chain reaction, including its re-listing in the United States.

A series of mysterious operations made many people sweat for TikTok.

Today, TikTok has returned to the US market in an even stronger posture. Its downloads have more than doubled in five days. It can be said that it has fought a beautiful comeback. Many netizens said that "TikTok is still the top stream after its return."

As a social media platform with great influence in recent years, TikTok has not only achieved remarkable results in the United States, but also its performance in many global markets such as the UAE is quite amazing.

Take the UAE market as an example . TikTok has already dominated the local social media field with its diversified entertainment and shopping functions and a strong user base.

Recently, Sensor Tower, a digital intelligence and application data analysis platform, released the " 2025 Mobile Application Status Report" . The report shows that TikTok is the most popular social media application in the UAE, and its downloads rank first among local applications .

Specifically, the frequency of TikTok use by UAE users is very high. In 2024, 11.2 million UAE users spent a total of 7.63 billion hours on TikTok. On average, each person uses the platform for about 2 hours a day, and each person spends about 700 hours a year.

Compared with other social media platforms, users are significantly more dependent on and fond of TikTok, which also highlights TikTok's strong influence in the UAE market.

In addition to being reflected in user activity, TikTok's popularity in the UAE is also more intuitively reflected in the number of new users.

Data shows that as of the beginning of 2024, TikTok has more than 10.73 million users aged 18 and above in the UAE. In 2024, TikTok's new downloads in the UAE also achieved a new breakthrough, with the number of new users in the region reaching 2.5 million , a year-on-year increase of 30.4% . Currently, the UAE has become one of the countries with the highest penetration rate of TikTok, reaching 128.3%.

In addition, according to statistics, TikTok is the most downloaded social media application in the UAE, followed by global players Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram.

With the leading download volume, number of new users and frequent usage, TikTok has been booming in the UAE market and will continue to flourish in the future . Of course, not only in the UAE, but also in the social media platform circles in many markets around the world , TikTok is widely welcomed and recognized by users and has a place in the market .

The scale of e-commerce is experiencing a huge explosion, and the giant Temu will also "enter the game"

Having said that, in recent years, TikTok has continued to attract attention in many countries and regions around the world and has won the favor of a large number of users, which is enough to show its strength. The fact that the UAE e-commerce market can attract TikTok to settle in further proves the development potential of the region.

According to the latest market research reports and data analysis, the UAE e-commerce market has shown rapid growth in recent years and has become one of the most promising e-commerce markets in the Middle East.

Data shows that by 2024, the size of the UAE's e-commerce market has reached approximately US$11 billion (approximately RMB 79.75 billion), with an annual growth rate of more than 12% . In addition, its total e-commerce market revenue for the whole of last year was expected to be US$9 billion (approximately RMB 64.5453 billion), and its market penetration rate reached 66.1%.

In the future, the scale of its e-commerce will continue to grow. By 2025, this figure will surge to US$17 billion (about RMB 123.339 billion); it is expected that by 2029, its scale is expected to soar to US$25 billion (about RMB 180 billion), showing strong development potential.

According to foreign media analysis, this growth trend is due to factors such as the increased Internet penetration rate in the UAE, the widespread use of smartphones, and consumers' continuous improvement in online shopping experience.

Data shows that the UAE's Internet penetration rate exceeds 96%, ranking among the highest in the world, which provides good conditions for consumers to shop online. In the hot land of the Middle East, the UAE is one of the countries with the highest e-commerce penetration rate. There are a large number of young and highly digitalized consumers, and more than 70% of consumers frequently shop online, which is much higher than the global average.

Based on this, some netizens call the UAE a "rich country that loves online shopping."

Moreover, local relevant departments have actively promoted the development of cross-border e-commerce. In order to ensure the security and reliability of online transactions, they have further improved relevant laws and regulations to protect consumers.

It is worth mentioning that although the new blue ocean market has unlimited potential and opportunities, it also faces strong competition. In the UAE market, in addition to well-known e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, TikTok, and Noon, the giant Temu has also started to enter the market.

According to the latest news, by 2025, Temu semi-hosting will open five major sites, including Colombia, Norway, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland.

On February 28, Temu plans to officially launch its UAE site. This will be another important layout for Temu in the Middle East market, and also means that it is determined to get a share of the UAE market, which may further stir up the competition landscape in the market.

In general, the e-commerce potential of the UAE market is exploding, and it is undoubtedly a new "e-commerce treasure land" for cross-border sellers and platforms . The editor also learned that electronic products, fashion apparel, beauty products and household items are hot-selling categories in the country, and consumers pay great attention to the brand and quality of products. If sellers choose to enter the market, they may wish to pay more attention to such products.

However, it must be said that opportunities and risks often coexist. Before entering the market, relevant sellers and platforms need to have an in-depth understanding of local cultural differences and regional preferences, while also ensuring compliance with local laws and regulations .