E-commerce to soar in 2017; DSF gives additional boost

E-commerce is booming and will continue to soar in 2017 as the industry stalwarts have given the thumbs up to the growing trend. Popular sites like Sivvi.com, Souq.com, Namshi.com and Jadopado.com are very optimistic that the growth in this sector is inevitable as Dubai is evolving as a tech-savvy smart city.
"In general the e-commerce market is a growing market and people's habits are changing. More people are shopping online and the consumer is more educated. If people go to the mall they still check online. We think this behaviour and the rise of the savvy consumer has definitely contributed to online growth," said Rashid Alabbar, founder, Sivvi.com.
Alabbar is son of Mohamed Alabbar, founder and chairman of Emaar Properties.
The Alabbars took a huge leap in e-commerce recently when Mohamed Alabbar announced the launch of his venture Noon, the Middle East's largest online shopping platform, that will use the high-street fashion segment as a central plank in its strategy to dominate the region's fast-growing e-commerce sector.
One of the emirate's richest families, the Alabbars are making a very aggressive foray in online retail. "Our business has grown double digit month on month in 2016, and we expect to continue the trend for 2017. We go inline with market trends and demands and currently have over 200 brands. Our brands range from sports giants like adidas, Nike and Reebok to fashion favourites like Mango, Riva and Forever 21. We also recently introduced beauty to our list which has been performing very well, with a large demand for these products in the region. Clothing performed the best out of all the categories as well as shoes, accessories and beauty. We have noticed there is a strong demand for sportswear as well as trend focused pieces," said Alabbar.
The e-commerce sector hugely benefited from the Dubai Shopping Festival 2017, which concludes today. Saeed Mohammad Measam Al Falasi, executive director, retail and strategic alliances, Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), said: Shopping patterns and trends constantly change, and in Dubai and the UAE it is no different, as the online shopping phenomenon is catching on fast. As the leading shopping hub in the region, Dubai offers a unique and diverse experience for shoppers whether it is at neighbourhood community malls or mega malls, the traditional souqs or even high-street shopping. Now, with the growing popularity of online shopping, our retailers are adapting their marketing and promotional strategies to offer shoppers an additional and convenient way to shop using the digital platform.
"The DFRE is keeping abreast of all social media tools to connect to its diverse audiences in Dubai. With thousands of social media fans and followers descending on Dubai for Dubai Shopping Festival, The agency aggressively promoted the festival online and across all digital platforms including our website (www.mydsf.ae) Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. "The various research done on Internet shopping including our own studies on the subject highlight the importance of recognising and catering to an online marketplace, especially the fact that for the new generation of smartphone-savvy youth, online shopping is fast becoming their favourite way to buy products," said Al Falasi.
Another popular site the jadopado.com boasts over 9K sellers and from 2015 through to 2016, their registered seller count grew 84.60 per cent, demonstrating the strong interest in e-commerce across the region. The portal ranks electronics, beauty and fashion as top performers.
Omar Kassim, CEO, Jadopado.com, said: "We saw significant growth in 2016 versus the year prior. We expect the same trend to continue through 2017. As a marketplace platform, our sellers determine how they price and in many a case our sellers will price well below in-store prices. There are a tonnes of good deals to be hand online. Consumer preference is moving towards preferring to shop online versus in store and while I don't think DSF 2017 directly contributes to more online activity, it definitely helps to raise general awareness of retail and therefore indirectly contributes to more e-commerce activity."
E-commerce portals like Souq.com throughout DSF, had some incredible offers across all categories, and consumers could enjoy an additional 15 per cent discount. Souq.com features over 2 million products and 300 brands across categories. Mahendra Asar, general manager, Souq.com,said: "As the largest e-commerce platform in the region, we at Souq.com are growing significantly year-on-year and as we are evolving, we are taking our partners with us. As we begin 2017, confidence in the Souq.com brand is at an all-time high. We have been significantly investing to realise our future plans, adopting new technology, further scaling up our marketplace operations, launching new product categories and recruiting the best talent to drive job creation in the region. Looking ahead in 2017 and beyond, where e-commerce is set to dominate the way we make our daily purchases, we remain even more committed to our vision of connecting people with innovative products, amazing deals and ground-breaking technology.
Namshi's portal showcases close to 500 brands and currently is in the process of bringing in around 70 new brands this year alone. Hosam Arab, co-founder and managing director, Namshi, said: "Consumers are always looking to satisfy their shopping needs in a convenient manner that suits their lifestyle. Our online shopping model provides customers with a strong assortment of products while shopping at their convenience. The site is easy to navigate, we offer fast shipping, easy returns etc, which we have seen are key factors that are convert people towards shopping online. Namshi runs its own end of season Winter sale at the end of each year, which happens to coincide with DSF. Our offers are highly competitive and in line with discounts available at the various outlets taking part in DSF."
- sandhya@khaleejtimes.com