Groceries through smartphones: how ecommerce is changing MENA's shopping habits

We all remember how our grandmothers used to yell to “Abou Ahmad,” the grocery shop owner at the bottom of the building, to fill the baskets they would lower to him from their balconies. This beautiful memory proves that we have always looked for ways, albeit very simple at times, to bring the market to us instead of going to it.

Looking for the easiest and fastest way to do things isn’t new. And while granny’s basket is no longer made of straw, it still exists in the form of online baskets roaming e-commerce websites.

Online shopping is more prevalent in the region than it was a decade ago and it’s still expanding. However, it’s obvious that its growth is greater in some countries than others. The sector seems to be most popular in Gulf countries, especially in the UAE, and more specifically in Dubai. The reason is due to various factors:

The influence of western culture, which has embraced online shopping.
Longer working hours, after which people prefer to rest instead of going shopping.
Lifestyles that allow customers to afford slightly higher bills in exchange for a comfortable shopping experience (that is if it’s higher indeed).
Traffic jams and hot weather, which discourage people from going out.

All these factors correlate and complement one-another, which means that one factor alone is not enough to make the sector viable. In Egypt, for instance, where traffic is the worst in the region, the e-commerce sector is not as strong as the UAE’s. Though traffic congestion discourages shoppers from going out much, there are other factors in the equation, such as the living standard and lifestyle.

Original article by Tala El Issa

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Groceries through smartphones: how ecommerce is changing MENA’s shopping habits