GoNabit's e-commerce Confidence Index charts online shopping sentiment in the UAE

5 September 2011, Dubai, UAE: E-commerce confidence among UAE shoppers is on the rise, according to new research commissioned by GoNabit, a LivingSocial company.  GoNabit, the Middle East's first local commerce website, also known as group buying, partnered with independent research consultancy YouGov Siraj to measure e-commerce sentiment among its registered users in the UAE. In addition to revealing a significant rise in local e-commerce confidence, the research shows users prefer to shop with credit cards, with GoNabit continuing to act as a catalyst for increased e-commerce.  

Following a pilot study in March this year, the latest research is GoNabit's first e-commerce Confidence Index which the company plans to release quarterly.

"Historically, UAE shoppers have bought confidently from overseas websites, but have not had compelling reasons or opportunities to buy from local or regional websites due to a lack of choice, quality and trust. Our latest research reveals a significant attitudinal shift. The majority of people not only feel confident shopping from local websites, but they are actually buying twice as much online from home-grown sites as they are internationally," said Dan Stuart, CEO and Co-founder, GoNabit.com.

The research reveals that 75% of respondents feel confident buying online from local websites, an increase of 18% since the March 2011 pilot study.  Respondents are more than twice as likely to buy from the region where they are resident (60% buy once a month or more) than from other areas of the world (25% buy once a month or more).

"At GoNabit we've worked very hard to build trust and confidence in e-commerce. Introducing a customer charter and anti-spam policy, becoming a TRUSTe Sealholder and focusing on having the best possible customer service for both buyers and merchants are all ways in which we instill confidence in our shoppers. Building this trust is great for our business and also for the health and continued success of the e-commerce space in the region," Stuart added.

In addition to revealing a significant rise in local e-commerce confidence, the research also shows a 16% increase in credit and debit card usage since the March study, with 69% of those polled now indicating that they prefer this option. Card providers of choice are Visa with 52% of shoppers using this brand and Mastercard at 38%. GoNabit and Visa currently partner on "Visa Days," which provide special discounts and rewards to GoNabit members who pay with their Visa card. Third-party payment sites, such as PayPal, are less popular with 17% of respondents electing to use this payment method.

"A well documented distrust of credit cards among shoppers in the Middle East is clearly waning - with GoNabit built on the requirement that purchasers on our website transacts via credit card. This isn't about small numbers either; the research shows that shoppers are prepared to spend up to $1,000 or more online in a single transaction. Consumers are confident shopping with us and making large purchases and they're confident using their credit card to do it," said Sohrab Jahanbani, COO and Co-founder, GoNabit.com.

Local commerce continues to serve as a great entry point into e-commerce for consumers new to online transactions. In the last six months, 38% of users polled have made their first online purchase. Given that the research sample is made up of registered GoNabit users, there is a strong likelihood that a GoNabit deal has introduced these people to online shopping.

Overall, consumers are optimistic about shopping online in the future - 45% claim that they will branch out and buy different kinds of products online and 34% predict they will spend more money on future purchases. Almost 40% of respondents said they plan to purchase more from websites based in the Middle East region and 41% said they would try shopping from a wider range of websites.

GoNabit says that this optimism and increased confidence in shopping online is a positive sign for merchants, as is the purchasing power of those polled: 44% have a monthly income of $5,000 or more.

"This research outlines compelling reasons for merchants to consider a GoNabit partnership - we have an increasingly confident user base that are credit card savvy and have significant purchasing power. They are ready, willing and able to shop online to discover new merchants and experiences in their city," added Jahanbani.

-Ends-

About the survey
The survey was conducted by independent research firm YouGovSiraj between 24th and 31st July 2011, using the GoNabit UAE customer database.

Demographics

  • Total sample size: 2,470 respondents

  • An even split of males (50%) and females (50%)

  • Spread of ages, but skewed towards a younger audience (65% under 35, 35% 35 or over)

  • A mix of nationalities with Asian (52%), Arab (18%) and Westerners (24%) all present

  • Skewed towards higher income earners (44% with monthly salary of $5,000 or more)

Please note the YouGovSiraj panel was not used for this research and the sample cannot be assumed to be representative of any particular group or market other than registered GoNabit users.

About GoNabit - A LivingSocial Company
GoNabit - a LivingSocial Company is an online marketing company that uses the power of local commerce to nab unbeatable discounts of up to 90 per cent on things to see, eat and do locally. It was the first local commerce website to launch in the Middle East and offers businesses a risk-free customer-creation engine. GoNabit was founded in 2010 by experienced entrepreneurs Dan Stuart and Sohrab. GoNabit has the highest level of Verisign's SSL encryption and is also the first company in the UAE to have its data collection and usage verified by TRUSTe.

In June 2011, GoNabit was acquired by global local commerce player LivingSocial.

For more information visit: www.GoNabit.com

About YouGov Siraj
YouGov Siraj is a full-service market research company, specializing in online polling. YouGovSiraj has the region's largest pure research panel of 250,000+ members, who respond to surveys. The company has particularly strong analytical skills, with research specialists who have many years regional experience. YouGov Siraj acts as a research consultancy for clients on research projects of any size, outsourcing face-to-face and telephone, ensuring the very best service the region can offer. It is a subsidiary company of YouGov Plc in the UK and applies the same online methodology, which has proven levels of accuracy.

For more information visit: www.yougov.com

© Press Release 2011