UAE B2C E-Commerce and Payment Market 2020 & COVID-19's Impact

Move to B2C E-Commerce accelerated by COVID pandemic

The United Arab Emirates was one of the most advanced markets for online sales in the Middle East and North Africa region, leading its neighbors in the share of total retail sales attributed to E-Commerce. The confinement of UAE residents because of the coronavirus crisis has driven a sharp increase in online shopping, as shoppers turn to electronic means to purchase essential items such as food and clothing as well as comfort and entertainment products. The report tells of the impressive growth of online business permits in the Emirates, an indication of the confidence in the continued growth of online sales.

The pandemic brings changes in payment methods, cash averted

Prior to the pandemic, the most popular payment method for online orders was cash on delivery. The concern about cash as a possible vector of the coronavirus has promoted increased use of cards and digital payment methods. A recent survey cited in the publication also reflects that over half of users of digital payments prefer contactless methods when paying in a store. The study suggests that the pandemic-originated changes in payments will continue after the COVID-19 crisis passes.

Report Coverage
The report covers the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on B2C E-Commerce and payments in the UAE.

Report Structure

• The report starts with an overview, highlighting the overall impact of COVID-19 and the B2C E-Commerce development in the respective country.  
• Next, the “Sales & Shares” section covers the development of B2C E-Commerce prior to the outbreak and contains a forecast for the next two years.
• Afterwards, the section “Products & Verticals” shows the leading product categories purchased online and COVID-19’s impact on selected products and services.
• The “Trends” section highlights important online shopping trends, such as cross-border E-Commerce and M-Commerce.
• The next section, “Payment”, covers the payment methods used by online shoppers and the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on contactless payments.
• The “Delivery” section provides insights on E-Commerce delivery methods.   
• Finally, the “Players” section includes information about the leading B2C E-Commerce companies in terms of website traffic.

Please note: For this report, the purchase of an Enterprise license allows up to ten worldwide users of an organization access to the report