Dubai: If there is one thing that is holding back online shopping from reaching its full potential in the UAE, it is the lack of consumer confidence.
About eight in ten online shoppers in the UAE use their mobile phones to order groceries, food, electronics and other essentials, but only a few of them prefer to pay via the internet, according to an e-commerce site. Privacy and security are still high on the list of concerns.
In a recent survey by UAE-based AWOK.com, it was found that 75 per cent of their customers prefer to have their orders delivered first before making a payment, while only a quarter opt to pay online.
The findings coincide with a 2016 Gartner report that said 80 per cent of online shopping in the Middle East is done using cash-on-delivery. “This makes the transaction less efficient, takes a longer time to complete the delivery and tends to have a higher return rate,” the report stated.
UAE residents aren’t the only ones who have trust issues about leaving their card details online. According to the Office of Fair Trading in the UK, about a third of internet users don’t make online purchases because they don’t trust the system.
Ulugbek Yuldashev, owner and CEO of AWOK.com, said the majority of their customers opt to pay on delivery by card or cash. In cases where pay on delivery is preferred, the payment machine is brought to the customer’s door.
“They feel confident paying for an item once they have received and seen it. Another key consideration when consumers opt to pay on delivery is safeguarding their privacy,” Yuldashev told Gulf News.
“This is an indication of low trust among residents to pay online for purchases made on e-commerce sites. This is why there is scope of online shopping and payment platforms to work together, to grow this trust by offering increased safety and convenience in online transactions,” he added.
Yuldashev, however, noted that there is an increasing number of shoppers who recognise the “ease of paying online and opting to do so.”
The study also highlighted that online shopping is “immensely more popular” among men than women in the UAE. About 74 per cent of AWOK shoppers are male and 26 per cent are female, and the typical online customer is between 25 and 34 years old
“The statistics that we have reflects the pulse of the country’s online retail sector,” said Yuldashev.
“There is great opportunity for e-commerce businesses and payment providers to work closer, to offer multiple payment options that consumers in the UAE can use safely and conveniently.”
