Cobone Vs Groupon: comparative analysis

In the last article we compared, Souq.com & Nahel.com. This one will be dedicated to compare two of the group discount websites- Cobone & Groupon UAE.  

Cobone: is considered as one of the hottest start up in the region.  It has been founded in July 2010, by Paul Kenny, an online media expert who has worked earlier with brands like Emirates, Jumeirah & EMAP etc. Part of Jabbar Internet company , Cobone offers daily deals on best things, to do, eat, see & buy across Middle Eastern cities- Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah etc. Every day it comes up with one exciting deal at discounted price. Individuals need to sign up for the deal by purchasing it. The deal can go live only when enough people have signed up. In case if enough individuals do not sign up, the deal does not go live and the amount gets refunded. According to its website, it has saved more than US $ 44 Million & sold 778,899 deals.

For instance on 11^th April (when the article is written), they have put a deal where by paying 40 AED, sunglasses & frames worth 400 AED could be bought from Maestro Optics. The deal is on, & will go live, only when sufficient number of individuals will buy it.

Groupon: is a global brand, which provides daily deals across the globe. Originated in 2008, it is spread across 48 countries.  Headquartered in Chicago, it got originated from a website called “The Point”. Presently the company is worth more than US $ 6 Billion with more than 3000 employees. In the MENA region, it is active in Dubai, Sharajah & Abu Dhabi. It has entered in the region in 2011, with the name Groupon UAE.

 Table 1: compares Cobone & Groupon UAE, across some general facts. Source: Cobone & Groupon websites

 Table 2: compares Cobon.com & Groupon.ae websites, in terms of traffic. Source: Google Double click ad planner. Data are for March 2012.

Table 3:  Shows the popularity of the two websites Cobone Dubai & Groupon UAE, for various demographic profiles, in comparison to general internet population (for instance: Relative to the general internet population, 25-24 year olds are over-represented at Groupon UAE).  Source: alexa.com

Table 4: compares the Face Book pages of Cobone Dubai & Groupon UAE for the last one month. Source: Allfacebookstats.com

Table 5: shows the distribution of “own updates” for the two Facebook pages in the last one month. Source: AllFacebookstats.com 

Analysis

Groupon is an international brand in daily deals, whereas Cobone is an emerging regional brand. Based on the better understanding of local dynamics as well as early mover advantage Cobone has a stronghold. Groupon still needs to put some extra effort in catching up with its rival from Jabbar group.

Cobone is a truly local player. There contents are available in Arabic. They have multiple payment options. They offer cash on delivery, which is very effective in a region marked by- low credit card penetration & cash & carry culture. Availability of cash on delivery option at the 1st place, eventually helps Cobone convert customers online, in their subsequent deals. 

Cobone’s strength gets well reflected in terms of popularity of its website. Almost across all the parameters, it is twice as popular as Groupon.

One area, where Groupon UAE, seems to have outplayed Cobone Dubai, is Facebook engagement in the last one month. Notwithstanding the lesser number of Facebook members, it has achieved more number of likes & comments. This may be due to more number of photos & videos than Cobone.

No matter what the present situation is; the future is expected to be quite competitive. While Cobone will leverage on its understanding of local markets; advantage Groupon lies in its global presence & deep pockets. It has recently acquired “FeeFighters”- comparison engine which enables small businesses to find the cheapest merchant account provider or credit card processor, and also offers other services like its own Samurai payment gateway. 


According to one of the senior executive from Cobone, products are becoming more & more important besides, experience & service. The company that is able to develop into a broader "discount eCommerce model" with the best deal sourcing will probably win.

Analysis of E-Commerce in MENA , Part 3- Nahel Vs Souq

                                                      

In the last two articles on E-commerce, we analyzed the internet statistics & consumption behavior in MENA region. The subsequent articles including this one will be dedicated to emerging e-commerce websites in the region. In recent past, few successful e-commerce websites- Nahel, Souq, Cobone, Sukar, and Emiratesavenue.com etc - have emerged in the digital media landscape of the region.

The following analysis will compare Souq & Nahel- two of the leading multiple goods online e-commerce sites active in the region. The scope of comparison will be general facts, web & social media analytics.

Souq Vs Nahel

Table 1: compares Nahel & Souq across some general facts. Source: Nahel & Souq websites

                Table 2: compares Nahel & Souq websites. Source: Google Double click ad planner

Table 3:  Shows the popularity of the two websites, for various demographic profiles, in comparison to general internet population.  Source: alexa.com

Table 4: compares Nahel & Souq across basic social media parameters. (Note: the Facebook facts for Souq is only for Souq Uae)

Analysis

·         Souq has a much wider presence than Nahel, which is focused on UAE/Dubai only.

·         The high popularity of Souq could be attributed to- early mover advantage, offices across the region, options for selling as well, broader payment gateway options etc.

·         Nahel as a brand is more focused on working class educated females from UAE. Contrast to this Souq has a broader presence.

 

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.

 

Analysis of E-Commerce in Middle East & North Africa - Part 1

Introduction

Fig 1: Insights MENA photo, a website which specializes in studying internet consumption in MENA region. Source: http://www.insightsmena.com/ en/   

Internet and the digital world have become an integral part of daily life for a large number of people across the globe. For many, a considerable amount of time daily spends on the web. The digital world is also making strong inroads in the commercial space. According to a survey conducted by “Neilson”, 875 million individuals have purchased online, at least once a year. According to “world internet statistics”, as on 2011, Middle East constitutes only 3.4 percentages of the global users and hence does not contribute much on the e-commerce front. (If North African countries be included, the percentage will go a bit higher). Even though it does not play a very big role so far, e-commerce seems to have a great potential in the near future. The future growth could be fuelled by-high economic growth, young demographics, investments in the ICT infrastructure and political transition. Keeping this in mind, “Management Guru Blog”, will do a comprehensive analysis of the overall e-commerce industry in the MENA region. The entire report will be produced in a series, delving into the various aspects of e-commerce in the region. The very first in the series, will a give a brief description of the internet consumption as well as e-commerce activities in the region.        

E-commerce Statistics for Middle East & North Africa (mena)

Table 1: shows the GNI per capita and internet penetration in some selected MENA countries. Source: World Bank.

                    Table 2: Shows, mobile internet usage, in terms of percentage. Source: Insights MENA

Fig 1: shows the average weekly internet consumption by internet users (non internet users are not included in this), in minutes for the entire MENA region as well as for selected economies. The total internet consumption is the sum total of average weekly access via laptop/desktop and mobile. Source: Insights MENA

Fig 2: shows the percentages of online research and purchases made, across the overall population (includes internet users as well as non users), for MENA region and some selected economies. Source: Insights MENA. 

Fig 3: shows the percentage of internet users, who always pay attention to online ads while surfing the web, for MENA as well as other individual economies. Source: MENA Insights.

Table 3: shows the average weekly frequency, of some selected online activities, for internet users of MENA region and some individual economies of the region. Source: Insights MENA

Analysis

Some of the key findings of the statistics are as follows:

·         High per capita income influences high e-commerce activities: Countries like UAE and Saudi Arabia have fared well than their other Arab counterparts, on account of high per capita income. High per capita income results in high penetration of- internet, internet enabled better quality handsets, credit cards etc. This eventually has resulted in high percentages of E-commerce research and purchase activities, in these countries.

·         Unique case of Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia, the largest MENA economy, enjoys a comparatively high internet penetration and internet enabled mobile usage of, 41 and 54, percentages respectively. It has a very high online research percentage of 18 and  42 percentages of internet users claim to always pay attention to online advertisements. In spite of having strong arsenals, the overall percentages of e-commerce stands at moderate five percentages, just one percentage point higher than the overall MENA average of four. It seems, cash based culture and low reliance on credit cards, coupled with under performance in the 45 plus segment, has deterred Saudi Arabia from realizing its full e-commerce potential.

·         Jordan has huge e-commerce potential: Jordan offers another good case to study. Unlike gulf countries, it does not have any natural oil resources of its own and according to “World Bank” is considered as a developing nation with moderate per capita GNI of US $ 5,790. But, the tiny Levant state is also among one of the most innovative Middle Eastern countries and in the recent years have taken strides in the areas of, innovation and technology adoption. It enjoys decent; internet penetration, average weekly internet consumption and outlook towards e-commerce. A close look to some of the online activities of an average Jordanian internet user provides lot of interesting insights. An average user clicks an online ad, some 5.93 times a week and spends considerable time in research also. But when it comes to buying a product online, seems he hardly engages himself.  It might be due to the same factors preventing other countries as well- cash based culture, low credit card penetration and apprehension of using the internet for making payments. Jordan can be considered as one of the huge potential market for e-commerce in the region. With higher credit card/debit card penetration and education campaigns, higher e-commerce percentages could be realized in near future.