ABU DHABI - Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, has issued a new list of purchasing application of online stores in the UAE bringing the total number of e-stores to 44.

The updated list includes applications providing new services that will enable consumers to purchase their needs along with online shopping services provided by cooperatives around the country, such as groceries, meat, fish, vegetables and fruits shops.

The new list comprises the apps of many cooperatives, including the Emirates Cooperative Society, the Sharjah Cooperative Society, the Al Etihad Cooperative Insurance Company, the Dubai Fishermen Cooperative Society, Noon, Masafi and MyDubai.

A study drafted by the "Commercial Analysis and Information" at the Ministry of Economy stressed that online commerce, including shopping through applications, enables individuals to purchase their needs from home, which reduces traffic and overcrowding in shopping malls.

The UAE is the most advanced and fastest-growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and North Africa. The future development of this sector is supported by the availability of the internet, and advanced digital infrastructure and the presence of many young people using smartphones.

© Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2020.