Page 7 - CBM22

~ Pattern ~

The latest consumer research from e-commerce accelerator Pattern highlights the large
percentage of UAE online shoppers who buy products that are shipped from overseas. We
examine who consumers are buying from and why.

t a time when rising fuel prices and general Store, but many consumers in the market will also buy
inflation mean many consumers in Europe are directly from the marketplace’s international sites, such as
A seeing a squeeze on their disposable income, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
many consumer brands are wondering where they might
be able to achieve online sales growth this year. While 83% of UAE online shoppers say they buy from
Amazon.ae, 23% report buying from Amazon’s US site and
One such country is the United Arab Emirates. Not only 12% from Amazon’s other international sites.
is its e-commerce market still relatively immature—and
therefore fast-growing—but it also has an affluent population Price & Availability
of ex-patriots who are open to buying products online that Pattern sees two compelling reasons for why such a large
are shipped from overseas. percentage of the country’s online shoppers are prepared to
wait for the extended delivery timeframes that come with
Below we’ll examine which types of e-commerce sites the shipping goods from overseas.
UAE’s shoppers prefer for their cross-border purchases, as
well as why they choose to buy from overseas. The first is that there are many brands that are just not
available locally. The UAE has a relatively young and
Market dynamics highly tech-savvy population, who are big users of social
Online retail spend in the UAE is predicted to rise by 20% media, and so they will have a strong awareness of new
from the previous year to US$12 billion in 2022, according and up-and-coming brands and products which are not yet
to Kearney. Looking further ahead, the UAE’s online retail being distributed in the market.
market should hit US$17 billion by 2025.
The second reason comes down to price. Even where
Pattern’s research backs up these estimates of fast online Western products are available locally, often they can
growth. Over 74% of online shoppers polled in our survey be bought for less from overseas e-commerce sites, even
expected to spend more buying non-food items online in taking into account overseas shipping costs. Many brands
2022 compared to 2021. A huge 47% of online shoppers are sold through distributors or franchisees in the Middle
expected to spend a lot more online this year. Only 6% East, and their extra layer of margin adds to the cost to the
of shoppers expect to spend a little or a lot less online in end customer.
2022.
However, with Amazon.ae and Noon both likely to take a
Amazon.ae and Noon are the two most popular online significant proportion of the total growth in online sales,
marketplaces and have broad appeal across a wide range more Western brands will be tempted to invest in a UAE
of product categories. However, our research also showed presence and create localised listings on the platforms.
that 89% of UAE online shoppers had bought from such If their pricing is competitive and products are delivered
marketplaces and other retailers that shipped from overseas quickly through Amazon’s and Noon’s fulfilment services,
in 2021. then demand for cross-border alternatives will likely
diminish.
In fact, when we asked our survey respondents where, if
anywhere, they had bought goods online that had been In the short term, brands can use cross-border online
shipped cross-border in the past year, the results were: channels to build brand awareness and demand for their
products in the United Arab Emirates. In the mid-term,
• 73% had bought from Amazon; they may find that they can ramp their sales in the market
• 30% had bought from other marketplaces; even more quickly if they invest in entering the market. ••
• 16% had bought from brands’ international websites;
• 16% had bought from online-only retailers;
• 9% had bought from the international websites of
omnichannel retailers

It should come as little surprise that Amazon was the top TO DOWNLOAD PATTERN’S FULL UAE SHOPPER REPORT 2022, VISIT:
result. Not only does Amazon.ae have a large selection of https://www.info.pattern.com/uae-shopper-report-2022
products available from overseas sellers through its Global

7