Retail professionals: unleash the potential of the Middle East’s eCommerce market

Fashion retailers are arriving in hoards to take advantage of the Middle East’s booming eCommerce market. As a retail-marketing manager and graduate student in Northwestern University’s IMC program I have learnt that success in this market calls for a deep understanding of regional shopping habits and have found two key research papers that identify the key factors that must be considered.

 In an eCommerce study commissioned by Visa Middle East, Edouard Dayan (Director General, UPU), Ayaz Maqbool (Managing Director Tejuri.com) and John Andrews (CEO, IORMA) highlight that the Middle East region is the fastest growing eCommerce market worldwide. Noting that this is still a very underdeveloped market the article discusses the opportunities and barriers to e-commerce adoption in the region. According to the study mobile shopping has a bigger role to play than PC based shopping with 29 percent of local users buying goods and services through smartphones, bucking the global trend of 26 percent.  The issue of trust in payment gateways was also highlighted as a major factor in adoption rates, which although improving, still poses an issue for local consumer, banks in the region are addressing this challenge through increased security measures for online payments. 

The value and growth potential of the Middle East retail market is further reinforced in a summary report by the European Travel Commission who predict the value of the eCommerce market to reach and estimated 15 billion by 2015.  The report provides profile of who is shopping online and how they are shopping. An important highlight of the article is the ranking of the top eCommerce sites  which places online giant Amazon only third, after local offerings Souq.com and Cobone.com. This ranking shows that although Middle Eastern consumers are warming up to the idea of eCommerce, they still prefer locally focused sites as opposed to regular international giants. The article also cites a key barrier of eCommerce site as online payment systems. 46% of Middle Eastern Internet users say lack of trust in payment options as a substantial barrier to engaging in eCommerce.  In line with this attitude is the finding that Cash on Delivery is still the preferred payment method when shopping online, which compared to western adoption rates might seem relatively primitive.

Taking into account the insights presented in these reports, I suggest the following 3 action items and e-tailer must take into account when considering the Middle East market:

1. Localize your content. Arabicized e-commerce websites still perform better in the region then global giants such as E-bay and Amazon. Middle Eastern consumers are slowly adopting to  eCommerce but they need it on their terms. Brands that have defined the online landscape in other regions are not necessarily held in the same regard in this region. In order to gain the trust of the local consumer and help them on their eCommerce journey you must speak their language.

2.  Your content must be mobile enabled. M-commerce in the Middle East is already surpassing global trends. Local consumers are not only used to this channel but are experts in it. While m-commerce is often an afterthought in  eCommerce strategy, when moving into this region is must be a fully functional component of your operations or you will be one step behind your target.

3. Be flexible on payment gateways. Lack of trust in payment options is the biggest barrier to online business in the Middle East. Cash on delivery and prepaid cards, although seemingly primitive, remain the most common form of payment in the region. E-tailers must build credibility and trust by meeting the consumers on their terms before imposing their own procedures.

The Middle East e-commerce market is underdeveloped and one the fastest growing in the world, holding significant opportunities for both new and established players. Incorporating the above three insights into your strategy is a positive step forward in building a meaningful and valuable relationship with these consumers. Good luck!

Professional summary:

Ruthie Fischer is a retail marketing professional with 8 years experience developing and implementing a 360 communications strategy in competitive retail markets. Having spent 6 years working with some of the worlds leading luxury fashion brands and implementing their international marketing strategies in the UAE and GCC region, Ruthie is well versed in the complexities of the retail industry and consumer in the Middle East. Ruthie is currently undertaking a Masters of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University’s Medill School. Contact Ruthie on @RuthieMFischer

As a CEO Concerned with Technology and Social Media, Focus on Interactions with Consumers

As a CEO or an executive engaging in how a company converses with its consumers, it is important to monitor how emerging technologies can help improve customer interactions and relationships. As a graduating senior from the Medill School of Journalism and IMC program at Northwestern University, I have found two articles that provide key insights and action steps on how companies can better engage with their customers with the world’s latest, and most popular, technology. With e-commerce transforming the way consumers purchase, and sites such as Twitter influencing how consumers view businesses, it is essential that companies take note on these two emerging trends and know how to successfully utilize them.

The first article was released by Market Watch via PR Newswire stating the latest trends in global B2C e-commerce trends, which shows in the coming years consumers will expect a more personalized experience, ideally through mobile phones. For any company looking to expand their e-commerce business, operations through a mobile phone, customized to the buyer experience, will be necessary. The article highlights the following points: m-commerce (mobile commerce) is expected to play a larger role by 2016; worldwide B2C e-commerce growth will increase mostly in Asia-Pacific regions, which is expected to account for more than a third of global B2C e-commerce revenues, but the USA is projected to remain the largest B2C e-commerce market worldwide in 2013.

The second article, written by Paul Chaney, was distributed by Practical ecommerce, revealing the top 25 ways for e-commerce companies, or really any company, to successfully use Twitter to connect with customers, build relationships and “influence conversations to meet business objectives.” The article touches on Twitter basics, such as ensuring businesses have a recognizable Twitter username, but in my opinion the best tips included a cohesive, brand relevant profile; engaging effectively with the Twitter world in that you know what consumers are saying about the market, your competition and your company; and finally, make sure Twitter is used to strategically interact with consumers.

After analyzing these two articles, I recommend these three actions are implemented to better discover the potential of these two emerging technology trends:

• Remain current: Stay up to date with what your company's consumers are doing. It is imperative that companies recognize and adjust their brands to fit in these emerging, and long-lasting, trends consumers are actively engaging in.
• Be accessible: Make sure your company can appease any and all types of consumers by becoming accessible across platforms, because as shown by e- and m-commerce it is obvious consumers like and want control, as well as various options to receive what they are looking for.
• Match Tech to Business Objectives: Once business objectives have been developed, select the technologies that will best serve as a strategy to meet them.

In summary, ensure your company not only engages with its consumers, but follows their lead. Dive into the technologies they are not only using but the technologies they find important, easily accessible and necessary in some way for daily life. By paying attention to one's consumers and merging what is technologically important to the customer to what is technologically important to the company, there is now a possibility for great success.

Aja Edwards is a graduating senior at Northwestern University with a major in journalism, minor in religious studies and a certificate in integrated marketing communications. For questions or comments, she can be reached via Twitter at @aedwards19.

Second dot-com bubble crisis?

3 tips for smart marketing strategy help you conquer it!

Everyone desires to be the next Facebook or Google. Millions of online business starts in a year. Are we going through a second dot-com bubble crisis? Most of the start-up looks at the successful billion-dollar acquisition of Instagram, and the stunning IPO process of Facebook. But on the other hand, most of them end up with zero revenue or less profits.

The question is: how to succeed? Or should we ask: how to market your online business?

The answer would probably lie on how you understand your customers, and what you define as the best way to approach them? Many of us put most of the efforts on online marketing because it is the battlefield where we think we are in. On the other hand, some may argue that we can never underestimate the power of offline marketing, such as posters and direct mails. These two opinions don’t need to be either right or wrong. It just depends on what your product is and how you communicate with your consumers.

Here are 3 tips for you to initiate an effective marketing plan:

1.     Know who your customers are: It’s not just about who they are, but also where you can find them and what kind of issues they care. I mean, to REALLY UNDERSTAND them.

2.     Be contextual: After you know where to approach your customers, remember to make your communication message be contextual with the environment. Making it contextual so that people want to look at them.

3.     Show the benefit: Address the benefit directly and make it relevant to your customers. They want to know how your product would help! The best reason for them to be interested in your product is to show that you are the right solution for them. Show them why they should care. 

      

      Casey Lin is a Medill IMC Graduate student at Northwestern University. She is very enthusiastic about marketing, especially in technology industry. Follower Casey on Twitter  @Caseylin_NW.