Analysis of E-Commerce in Middle East and North Africa - Part 2

The last article dealt with the fundamentals of e-commerce activities in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA). The given article is next in the series, which will primarily deal with the degree of e-commerce activities across various demographic profiles in the MENA region. The segments, where the average percentage of e-commerce activities is more than 5, will be considered as key segment.      

Table 1: shows the percentage of online purchase among the population (includes internet users as well as non users) for the region as well as individual economies across various age groups. Source: Insights MENA

Table 2: shows the percentage of online purchase among the MEN population (includes internet users as well as non users) for the region as well as individual economies, across various age groups. Source: Insights MENA

Table 3: shows the percentage of online purchase among the Women population (includes internet users as well as non users) for the region as well as individual economies, across various age groups. Source: Insights MENA

Key  Insights

Most of the key market segments are concentrated in UAE & Saudi Arabia. It is somehow even higher in UAE, which not only benefits from high, per capita GDP & internet penetration but also cosmopolitan culture. (UAE houses people from 206 nationalities) Some of the key points pertaining to the e-commerce behavior for various demographic segments in the MENA region, are as follows-

·         Key market segments (irrespective of gender): UAE (all the age group), Saudi Arabia (25-34, 35-44)

·         Key market segments (men): UAE (all the age group), Saudi Arabia (25-34, 35-44), Jordan (25-34)

·         Key market segments (women): UAE (15-24, 25-34, 35-44), Saudi Arabia (25-34)

·         Jordan’s women segment’s spectacularly off the mark performance: Jordan is one of the Middle Eastern countries, which has run a decent show, when it comes to digital media. It’s “MEN” segment has been quite active in terms of e-commerce activities. But the same does not hold true for “WOMEN” segment. The “WOMEN” segment’s performance has been spectacularly off the mark with almost zero e-commerce activities across all the age group.

·         Morocco (15-24) & Saudi Arabia (25-34) women segment outperforms their male counterparts:  In the MENA region, where the women still needs some time to catch up with their male counterparts, it is very unlikely that they can outperform them in terms of e-commerce activities. Yet, there are couples of section where the “WOMEN” have outperformed their “MEN” counterparts- Morocco (15-24) and Saudi Arabia (25-34), where in terms of % of average e-commerce activities; they have outperformed their male counterparts. This diversion from the general trend is indicative of slow but certain change in the gender dynamics in the region.  

·         Abysmally low e-commerce penetration in the 45+ segment: All across the MENA, excluding UAE, the 45 + segments appears to be dysfunctional in terms of e-commerce activities.