KHALEEJ TIMES, Tuesday, May 4, 2021 | Ramadan 22, 1442
GCC to spur Measa e-commerce market growth to $148.5b by 2022
Emirates:
The e-commerce market in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (Measa)
will grow to $148.5 billion by 2022 with the Gulf region driving this surge
with a more than treble jump in online sales, a new study has revealed.
The study shows that e-commerce has experienced a significant leap during the
Covid-19 pandemic with the Gulf region witnessing a 214 per cent year-on-year
increase in cross-border online sales by mid-year 2020.
Findings of the second edition of e-commerce landscape report released by Dubai
CommerCity also suggest that the Measa B2C products e-commerce market equates to
2.5 per cent of the global B2C e-commerce market.
Amna Lootah, assistant director general, Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza),
and a board member at Dubai CommerCity, said the e-commerce sector in Measa is
witnessing a significant growth, which is driven by the confidence of its
business community and ecosystem.
“This has also been led by the continuously changing consumer behavior and the
adaptation of advanced technologies that played a key role in easing the overall
consumer shopping experience,” she said.
Lootah said the Measa region’s e-commerce market is experiencing a compound
annual growth rate (CAGR) at 18.4 per cent, higher than the global 16.6 per cent
growth over the 2019-22 period, which represents a big opportunity for the
region to benefit from the growing e-commerce activity.
South Asia represents the largest sub-regional e-commerce market size, with
India the largest country by e-commerce sales in the Measa region, valued at
$45.7 billion sales in 2019.
The GCC is the fastest growing sub regional e-commerce market over the
forecasted period 2019-22, where Saudi Arabia and UAE take the lead at 39 per
cent and 38 per cent CAGR respectively.
The findings suggest that the affluent, young population and cross-border
e-commerce are the two strongest e-commerce growth drivers for the Measa region.
Other growth drivers include internet penetration, smartphone and social media
adoption, government policy and ease of doing business.
“The evolving consumer demands and habits represent an important opportunity for
the region to advance the e-commerce industry to reach international standards.
This opportunity is further reflected with the UAE leading many e-commerce
related rankings regionally and globally including the highest global internet
penetration at 99 per cent and securing the 13th position out of 99 countries
for ease of starting an online business ranking,” said the report.
Lootah said the report highlights regional growth, future opportunities and
latest trends, which can guide SME’s and multinational companies on the right
direction to benefit from and to expand their regional and global operations.”
“Dubai CommerCity aims to provide the business community with the latest
insights, trends and statistics for the e-commerce sector. These reports support
businesses in developing strategies to establish or expand their operations in
e-commerce within the UAE and the wider region. This falls in line with Dubai
CommerCity’s position as the first dedicated e-commerce free zone, which through
its expertise, knowledge and industry specialists, supports entrepreneurs and
businesses to achieve economic prosperity and growth in e-commerce,” Lootah.
African markets are showing strong potential, covering at least 19 per cent of
the regional sales within the Measa e-commerce market share in 2019. Nigeria is
the second largest e-commerce market in the region at $7.7 billion sales, with
South Africa and Morocco also making it to the top 10 markets. Kenya is the 4th
fastest growing economy at 36.6 per cent CAGR. added.
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