The UAE is missing out on the US$680 billion (Dh2.49bn) global e-commerce industry, with just 5 per cent of businesses transacting online.
The majority of businesses in the Emirates do not sell products on the internet, and only 11 per cent make purchases via the Web, according to a survey by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).
That comes despite 44 per cent of UAE employees routinely using a computer at work, according to the survey.
"What is very low is take-up of e-commerce - online trading, buying and selling," said Fintan Healy, the executive director of regulatory affairs at the TRA.
"A high degree of employees use computers at work," he added. "There seems to be a bit of a disconnect there."
The TRA's survey, conducted earlier this year, found that 95 per cent of businesses did not use the web to sell products or services. Low uptake of internet commerce means that UAE businesses are losing out on a multibillion global industry.
According to JP Morgan, global e-commerce revenues are forecast to grow to $680 billion this year, up 18.9 per cent from 2010.
The retail ecommerce industry is valued at more than $150bn a year in the US alone, according to the digital-data provider comScore. Sites belonging to the retailer Amazon received visits from more than 282 million visitors in June - or 20.4 per cent of the world's internet population, comScore said.
Mr Healy said the low uptake of e-commerce among UAE businesses was out of line with both the Government's 2021 development plan, and Abu Dhabi's Economic Vision 2030.
"Both focus very heavily on a knowledge-based economy with these services," he said. "That's something we have to consider very carefully: What is the role of the TRA going forward as a facilitator and enabler."
Despite UAE businesses having failed to embrace e-commerce, more and more consumers are making purchases online.
According to the media agency Omnicom Media Group (OMG), 49 per cent of UAE internet users have already made purchases online. That compares to 41 per cent in Saudi Arabia and 35 per cent in Qatar. In the GCC, the most popular purchases on the web are airline tickets, electronic devices and computer software.
Dimitri Metaxas, the regional executive director for digital at OMG for the Middle East and North Africa, said he forecast greater uptake of e-commerce in the future.
"Roughly half of the UAE internet users are saying that they have purchased online, which is a big jump from two or three years ago, when it was 20 to 25 per cent," said Mr Metaxas.
"I'd say that in the next coming two to three years, we could see that jumping up to 70 per cent."
While UAE consumers may be using e-commerce sites more, these are mainly global sites such as Amazon.com, rather than local players.
Mr Metaxas expects "a dramatic increase" in local ecommercestart-ups, such as the Middle East and North Africa travel site Joob.com, and the online store Nahel.com.
Historical barriers to greater uptake of e-commerce in the GCC has been the reluctance to use credit cards and an unclear postal-address system, Mr Metaxas said.
Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, the chief executive of the digital agency Flip Media, based in Dubai, said that online marketplaces such as Souq.com work well because they were tailored to the local market. "The creation of relevant, vocal e-commerce businesses is a big part of it. If you look at something like Souq it's not an Arabic eBay - it's a very uniquely Arabic company, in terms of how they offer their products."
The growth of "daily deals" sites such as Groupon, GoNabit and Cobone in the Arab world had also acted to boost acceptance of e-commerce, Mr Tuqan said.
"They are actually helping make Middle Eastern consumers more sensitive to e-commerce, and less fearful of it."
bflanagan@thenational.ae
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
