Respondents are twice more likely to buy from their region of residence than from elsewhere
E-commerce confidence among UAE shoppers is on the rise, according to new research conducted by YouGov Siraj and commissioned by online group buying website GoNabit.
The research reveals that 75 per cent of respondents feel confident buying online from local websites, an increase of 18 per cent since March 2011, a media statement issued today said. Following a pilot study in March, the latest research is GoNabit's first e-commerce Confidence Index, which the company plans to release quarterly.
According to the latest statistics, respondents are more than twice more likely to buy from the region where they are resident (60 per cent buy once a month or more) than from other areas of the world (25 per cent buy once a month or more).
In addition to revealing a significant rise in local e-commerce confidence, the research shows users prefer to shop with credit card.
"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 of discount provider GoNabit.com.
The research shows a 16 per cent increase in credit and debit card usage since the March study, with 69 per cent of those polled now indicating that they prefer this option. Third-party payment sites, such as PayPal, are less popular with 17 per cent of respondents electing to use this payment method.
"A well-documented distrust of credit cards among shoppers in the Middle East is clearly waning," said Sohrab Jahanbani, COO and Co-founder, GoNabit.com. "GoNabit [is] built on the requirement that purchasers on our website transacts via credit card. This isn't about small numbers either; 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," he added.
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 per cent of users polled have made their first online purchase. Overall, consumers are optimistic about shopping online in the future - 45 per cent claim that they will branch out and buy different kinds of products online and 34 per cent predict they will spend more money on future purchases. Almost 40 per cent of respondents said they plan to purchase more from websites based in the Middle East region and 41 per cent 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 per cent have a monthly income of $5,000 or more.
The survey was conducted between July 24 and 31, using the GoNabit UAE customer database. The total sample size was 2,470 respondents with an even split of males (50 per cent) and females (50 per cent). The age-group was skewed towards a younger audience (65 per cent of respondents were under 35), with a mix of nationalities (52 per cent Asian, 24 per cent Westerners and 18 per cent Arab).
© Emirates 24|7 2011
