Online shoppers in the UAE are becoming increasingly savvy, with quality customer service and competitive pricing top on their priority list when it comes to the motivation for shopping online, said a recent consumer survey by JadoPado, a new e-commerce initiative in Dubai.

The survey, titled ‘JadoPado’s Anatomy of E-commerce in the UAE’, delved into consumers’ online shopping habits such as what people typically purchase and what time of the day they like to shop.

Among the respondents who had shopped online before, consumer electronics were the most common online purchase (85 per cent of respondents), followed by travel and event tickets (58 per cent), and software and applications (49 per cent).

In addition, the typical e-commerce shopper preferred shopping in the later hours of the day, with the majority of respondents making purchases between 4pm to 12 am.

The online consumer is also after instant gratification, with 50 per cent of respondents expecting delivery within three days and a further 24 per cent wanting their products to arrive within 24 hours of purchase.

Commenting on the findings, Omar Kassim, the founder of JadoPado said: “The survey underlines how consumers today are very discerning. Not only are they looking online for alternatives for the best deals, they are demanding great customer service as well."

"In order to capture the attention and wallet of online consumers, it is essential for e-commerce businesses to offer high quality experiencesthat combine top-notch customer service, competitive pricing and speedy delivery," he stated.

E-commerce spending in the region continues to grow rapidly, with a study by Visa valuing the market at approximately $2 billion across the GCC last year with the UAE constituting over a quarter of this online spend.

The credit card payment remains the most common form of online payment (75 per cent of respondents), with cash on delivery being the second most common mode of payment for e-commerce purchases (55 per cent of respondents).

While most respondents to the survey had bought at least one item online in the last 12 months, a small proportion (13 per cent) acknowledged that they have yet to experience online shopping, revealed Kassim.

Security and the inability to touch and test products prior to purchase were highlighted as the primary reasons for not doing so, he stated.

However, an encouraging sign for the e-commerce market in the region is that a majority of these respondents (81 per cent) intend to shop online in the next 12 months, said the survey.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for the e-commerce market in the Middle East and the UAE. There is no question that awareness of the availability of advanced security and payment methods in the region’s online space is growing. In the meantime, it is important to recognize that offering different modes of payments such as cash on delivery can speed uptake in the e-commerce market,” Kassim added.-TradeArabia News Service