The number of online shoppers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is growing exponentially. The Middle East’s e-commerce sector, in particular, has skyrocketed by 1,500 per cent over the last 10 years due mainly to its young demographic with high disposable income and high Internet penetration. Leading this climb is the GCC market which, according to AT Kearney, is expected to be valued at $20 billion by 2020.
The upward trend is projected to continue in 2017. According to the latest market estimates by MyUS, the leading facilitator for MENA consumers who want to purchase US merchandise online, the regional market’s total value is forecast to hit the $6.7-billion mark this year, up from $4.8 billion the previous year. The industry stood at $3.8 billion in 2015. Excluding non-US direct retailers or spending on hospitality and e-services, the same report shows that American direct retailers have accounted for the largest percentage in the region’s e-commerce market over recent years.
Ramesh Bulusu, MyUS Chief Executive Officer, said: “The Middle East, and the GCC region in particular, is expected to see continued aggressive e-commerce growth in the coming years, so it’s natural that many local and regional businesses are looking for ways to help their customers have access to American online retailers. This is where we can help: our expertise in logistics and shipping hundreds of thousands of packages from the US to the region makes us a perfect partner for these local and regional players.”
MyUS is the number one consumer rated American shipping firm that lets international businesses and consumers shop virtually in any US website and receive their packages in as fast as two to four days. They serve members in 220 countries and territories, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE. Boasting over 400,000 registered members, MyUS provides a simple, reliable way to shop online and ship purchases overseas in a cost-efficient manner. In effect, it offers Arab shoppers virtual access to US retail stores, even from American brands that do not yet ship internationally.
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