Hey, it’s me from Dubai! The small desert city of UAE which is a treasure hunt for tourists all over the world who flock to its shores for an amazing shopping experience! Despite being a muslim country, Dubai has an amazing nightlife which matches western countries.
Perhaps, you are thinking I roam around luxury shopping malls of Dubai like any other foreign visitor? Hold on! I am going to tell you something more interesting about shopping in Dubai. I am exploring online shopping in Dubai sitting on the bed in my hotel room. Shocked?
Yes, you heard it right! Can you believe ten years ago Dubai had next to no online presence? Online shopping in Dubai was next to impossible. Moreover, you will be surprised to see Dubai’s online scene right now. It has indeed exploded.
This is the digital revolution of Dubai; but, I would say for the entire country of UAE. Thankfully, the government has realized the potential of the internet and invested heavily in this field.
The total net worth of the e-commerce market of UAE currently stands at US$5 billion, and Dubai alone is taking up the lion’s share of this revenue. Moreover, experts believe that this number could rise to US$17.8 billion by the year 2020. Isn’t this a good sign that you should join in this bonanza and take advantage of what there is to offer.
Interested to know who are the big players in e-commerce retailing? Well, the list is long enough. No doubt, Amazon has already stepped into the online shopping arena of Dubai with its massive choice of items. But that’s not the end! There are many local firms also investing millions of dollars in this market.
Wait the list is yet to begin! Here are the names, and their specialties which will entice you to jump in and buy your favourite shopping intems online in Dubai!
Souq.com is the most visited and best online e-commerce website Dubai has. However, Amazon has purchased it at $580 million to gain the monopoly in this online shopping industry. Good for them but is it good for you?
If you are a fashion lover, then Namshi.com is for you. It is a hugely popular website in Dubai known for its latest fashion items. It primarily caters to the many fashion lovers of Dubai – offering apparels, clothing and other fashion accessories for the women, men and children of Dubai. Online clothes shopping here.
You will be amazed to know that Namshi boasts a lot of premium fashion brands at competitive prices on this e-commerce website. The best thing about this website is that it has great deals for both men and women and even children, so there is something for everybody on this website.
You don’t have to leave your house, if you feel lazy in doing your grocery shopping.
Supermart.ae may be the perfect solution for you! This is a very reputable e-commerce website in Dubai which offers fresh groceries including gluten-free products delivered to your door.
This site even has a section dedicated to baby products. Very useful for busy mothers with young children. It’s a giant online supermarket where you can find everything from stationery like paper and pencils through to beauty products. Supermart has a friendly user interface which makes buying groceries easy.
If you know or remember the American store BlockBuster, which was a brick and mortars store popular for distributing DVDs of the latest Hollywood movies. Well, aido.com is its online version in Dubai launched in 2008. This is the largest supplier of DVDs and Blu Ray movies in Dubai. Since its inception, Aido has expanded rapidly and is now a mega online store that also offers electronic items for sale. All its products come with a warranty of 12 months.
Last but not the least is mumzworld.com. This is a very niche e-commerce website offering all things mommy and baby related to parents in Dubai. It has products from both local and international brands, and all their products are of very high quality.
Even though Mumzworld is a very specialized website, it enjoys heavy traffic as all the prices of its products are competitive and lower than the rates of physical stores giving them an edge. Baby shopping online here.
Other areas of shopping include electronic items such as mobile phones, computers, digital cameras, televisions, lap tops, printers, music systems, tablets and many other items. There are quite a few Dubai websites selling electronic goods. One of the best is Gadgetby.
Read more about electronic shopping sites in Dubai here.
Many traditional forms of shopping are on the decline in Dubai as online shopping gains momentum here. A massive 81% of people in the UAE have access to the smartphones. It means cities like Dubai are ripe for rapid e-commerce development.
The multi-cultural society of Dubai has a lot of professional expatriates who are currently working here. They come from different parts of the world, and they usually have a decent amount of spare cash to spend. A lot of this spare cash gets spent on fancy items off the internet.
Demographics plays a major role in the shaping the market online shopping in Dubai? Dubai has a vastly diverse society where most of the people living in this city are foreigners (Emiratis only make up 16.5% of the population). So, naturally, most of the users of these e-commerce websites are from other countries instead of Emiratis. They are fuelling the growth and direction of these e-commerce websites.
Another large section of internet users are from South Asia, i.e., countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, and Sri lanka. Most of these people have families at home for which they buy a lot of kinds of stuff when they go back home during their holidays. This, along with western expatriates constitutes a majority of this consumer base who are buying things online.
So now, you might be wondering, are these sites managing to make a profit in such a cut throat business atmosphere? Well, according to statistics, they are.
Due to the government’s increased push on making the entire country of UAE digital, Dubai is currently at the forefront of this digital revolution. So, people are being encouraged to invest in online ventures more so than before, and the relaxed regulations and low taxes of Dubai are helping these online stores to make a profit and still enjoy flexibility in their business strategies.
Companies such as Amazon can expand rapidly in Dubai because of government help and willingness to cooperate with e-commerce sites. Pretty soon, the total sales revenue of the online stores will eclipse the revenue figures of the physical stores, and this will further drive the growth of this industry.
Currently, the e-commerce space is small compared to brick and mortar stores, but with the entrant of Amazon, this will soon change. The sheer convenience of shopping online and price is the main selling point of these online stores.
Customers like us, simply love the flexibility and ease of buying things online which you don’t experience when physically shopping in a bricks and mortar store. We all live in the technological age where our world will see rapid development in a very short amount of time. This is a truly exciting time for us.
The improvement of technology will soon make the process of payments even safer easier and more efficient, and this will increase the satisfaction and trust of online customers.
As soon as the newer retail websites improve their logistics, Dubai’s e-commerce industry will grow even more, but the level of competition will increase further. The rapid development of Dubai’s internet space will aid in hugely advancing the e-commerce industry of this country.
If the regular brick and mortar don’t change their tactics and incorporate sustainable e-commerce practices or provide alternative shopping experience not available online, they will soon become extinct in Dubai as consumers increasingly shift to the digital space. These physical stores just cannot compete with the convenience of the online stores, but may be able to provide better real world experiences instead.
No doubt Dubai will soon outshine other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the e-commerce sector, and this will contribute to boost Dubai’s GDP even further, further developing the economy of UAE as a whole.