Development prospects of the Middle East e-commerce market

As a core component of the “Belt and Road” initiative, the Middle East has always played an indispensable and key role in cross-border trade. With the rapid development of the times, the Middle East market has continued to grow, and trade with China has become increasingly frequent, with almost no trade barriers.

Traditionally, the Middle East is often associated with words such as oil, yellow sand, and gold mines, but what is striking is that this land is quietly nurturing the vigorous vitality of cross-border e-commerce and has become a blue ocean market that is in urgent need of deep cultivation.

The Middle East is vast and covers 20 countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, and Turkey. Among them, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have strong economic strength with their rich oil resources.

At present, China’s business environment in the Middle East is extremely superior, and the economic and trade cooperation between the two sides shows great potential. The Middle East is not only vast in territory and large in population, but also has a large group of young people, which has injected a steady stream of vitality into the consumer market, indicating that there is huge consumption potential to be tapped.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the per capita GDP of the six Gulf countries in the Middle East – the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, especially Saudi Arabia and the UAE, exceeds 20,000 US dollars, demonstrating strong consumption capacity and strong consumer demand.

However, the manufacturing industry in the Middle East is relatively backward, with a single industrial structure and mainly relying on the oil and gas industry. This has led to the Middle East market being highly dependent on imports in the fields of daily necessities, electronic products, clothing and beauty, etc., providing a broad stage for the development of cross-border e-commerce.

In recent years, cross-border e-commerce platforms in the Middle East, such as Amazon Middle East Station, Noon, AliExpress, Fordeal, etc., have risen rapidly and are deeply favored by consumers. Online shopping has become the mainstream consumption mode of local people.

For Chinese sellers, the Middle East market is undoubtedly a fertile land of e-commerce full of opportunities. Chinese products have accumulated a certain reputation in the Middle East, laying a solid foundation for Chinese sellers to enter the Middle East e-commerce market. At the same time, Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Jollychic and Fordeal have also achieved remarkable results in the Middle East and have a huge user base.

In addition, as the leader in the region, Amazon Middle East Station covers many Middle Eastern countries and has a huge traffic pool. For sellers pursuing brand building, establishing an independent website is also an option worth considering. Middle Eastern consumers pay attention to brand loyalty, and once trust is established, they will continue to buy the brand’s products.

It is worth noting that the Middle East is one of the high-priced markets outside Europe and the United States, with an average customer price of up to US$150, showing strong purchasing power. This feature has attracted many sellers to flock to the Middle East e-commerce market.

In terms of specific country selection, the market potential of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Turkey is particularly significant. As the economic center of the Middle East, the UAE has a booming e-commerce market; Saudi Arabia has a large and growing number of e-commerce users; Turkey has shown a strong determination and huge potential for e-commerce development.

In terms of product selection, Middle Eastern consumers have shown great interest in categories such as fashion, household goods, consumer electronics, and beauty and personal care. In particular, clothing styles that conform to local cultural customs (such as women’s robes + headscarves, men’s Arab white robes) and high-end beauty and skin care products are particularly popular in the Middle East market. In addition, with the advancement of technology and the improvement of living standards, the demand for electronic products and smart homes in the Middle East is also growing.

However, entering the Middle East market also requires attention to its unique religious and cultural customs. For example, any product related to pigs is not suitable for sale in the Middle East, including some animation IP images, which also need to be handled with caution.

In addition, the development of e-commerce in the Middle East also faces two major challenges: online payment and logistics. At present, the penetration rate of credit card payment in the Middle East is low, and cash on delivery is still the mainstream payment method, which increases the risk and inconvenience of e-commerce sellers. Therefore, providing payment methods such as buy now and pay later will help improve the order conversion rate. At the same time, logistics, as the basic link of the e-commerce system, its efficiency and service quality directly affect the consumer experience. The logistics infrastructure in the Middle East is relatively weak, but with the active investment of major e-commerce platforms and the strengthening of cooperation with local logistics service providers, it is believed that logistics problems will gradually improve.

In summary, the Middle East has brought new growth opportunities for cross-border e-commerce with its young and wealthy consumer groups and vast e-commerce market. Despite some challenges, overall, the Middle East e-commerce market has great potential and is worth sellers’ brave exploration and development.