These 4 ecommerce success stories from the Middle East have earned a spot for themselves in an emerging market with their knowledge of local needs and problems, and have overcome the numerous hurdles the region presents.

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How 4 Successful Ecommerce
Companies in Middle East
Have Overcome the Hurdles

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Ecommerce in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries is still at a
nascent stage.
There is immense growth potential:
smartphone penetration in the region is over 65%,
internet penetration is overall more than 90%,
ecommerce constitutes only 0.4% of the GDP (0.4%) yet.
The GCC countries comprise Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar
and Oman—namely countries where the disposable income is high. So why
aren’t consumers shopping more?

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Not enough variety: Only 34% of the region’s major retailers have online
presence. Among the pure play ecommerce players, few have succeeded
in the many hurdles the region throws up, which are listed below.
Logistics and delivery: The Middle East is notorious for its inadequate
address systems, making last-mile delivery difficult for ecommerce
businesses. Only players with deep pockets have been able to invest
heavily in infrastructure that ensures reasonable reliability in delivery.
Payments: A particularly stiff bugbear, the problem with payments starts
with a large unbanked population. Even among those who have access to
online payments, there is a distrust of revealing such information on the
internet, making it necessary to provide cash on delivery payment option.

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Policies: Being a relatively new development in the region, governments
still don’t have clear policies framed for ecommerce. Good policies could
facilitate business operations, and these are still evolving.
In spite of the multitude of problems, ecommerce development has taken
off and some prominent ecommerce business have emerged in the GCC
countries.
We list 4 successful ecommerce websites of the GCC region. Read on to
get inspired by their stories of how they’ve overcome the hurdles of doing
business in what is a very promising ecommerce market for the early
starters.

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1) Souq.com
Souq started as an auction site in 2005, and realigned itself as an online
marketplace and retail company only in 2011.
It has grown with such rapidity that it has earned itself the name of the
‘Amazon of the Middle East.’
There’s a good reason why Souq’s success in the region is unparalleled—it
has surged forth with unmatched aggression to solve the problems of its
target market.

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– For a region that prefers going online on the mobile, Souq had a
streamlined mobile shopping strategy.
– Souq owns Payfort, a payment gateway that encourages merchants to
sell on the ecommerce website with secure technology.
– To offer great service and deal with the logistics problems of the Middle
East, Souq has recently launched its ‘Fulfilled by Souq’ ecommerce
services for warehousing and delivery.

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2) Namshi.com
Only 4 years old, Namshi is the region’s biggest fashion and lifestyle pure
play. Being local (Arabic), Namshi understands the consumers of the
region and reaches out to them accordingly.

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- The people of the region are known for their penchant for high-
fashion, so Namshi stays up to date in its offerings. From international
high street brands to celebrity labels like Beyonce’s Ivy Park, Namshi
includes it all.
- The people’s love for visiting the mall is well known in the region, as is
their open distrust of online shopping. To encourage these buyers to
consider online shopping, Namshi offers cash on delivery and a 14-day
return period.
- To combat a largely prevalent fear of fakes among buyers, Namshi is
persistent in its content and digital marketing, and brand awareness
efforts.

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3) MarkaVIP.com
Amman, Jordan, based MarkaVIP is an invitation-only luxury fashion and
lifestyle shopping destination. It launched in 2010, and already boasts
over 3 million exclusive memberships from over 8 Arabic-speaking
countries. MarkaVIP holds flash sales periodically, selling premium brands
at discounted prices.

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- MarkaVIP recognized the demand for high fashion and labels in the
region, and focused on this niche, keeping it’s exclusivity by staying
membership-only and holding flash sales that create a sense of
urgency.
- It has made itself synonymous with luxury, so that some brands have
launched on the website as the first point of sale in the region.
- To offer customer convenience, MarkaVIP has set up distribution hubs
in each of its local markets.

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4) Mumzworld.com
Among the ecommerce companies receiving funding on the basis of its
exponential growth and promising future is this ecommerce marketplace
catering to the needs of mothers, babies and children.
Mumzworld was introduced in 2011 and measures its success by the high
loyalty it enjoys—over 45% shoppers return to make purchases at least 5
or 6 times in a year.

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- Mumzworld identified a gap in the offline market—a one-stop shop for
all the needs of mothers that offers world-class products and brands.
- The marketplace cum retail website gives shoppers a compelling
reason to visit: an SKU count higher than any offline store in the sector
in the region.
- To ensure lasting success, it’s necessary to go the extra mile and cater
to the consumers’ convenience. Mumzworld offers features such as
bespoke products and a customized gift registry for its customers.

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Each of these websites has identified its strengths and leveraged them,
and has targeted the specific hurdles that hurt its business to overcome
them. In the process, they have opened up the scope of the promising
Middle East ecommerce market.
To know more about ecommerce implementation or mobile app
development in the Middle East, write to us at sales@embitel.com