Are daily deals in Dubai attracting in store shopaholics? - By: Marvick James

Type today’s deals in any of the search engines to find out deals in UAE and you will come up with thousands of results. It won’t be amazing for the online discount market in the emirates has been dramatically expanding for quite some time.

Having pioneered by cobone back in 2010, group buying has been/is still being imitated by a number of internet companies in the gulf region. Actually, the idea was said to have originated in Chicago, U.S. in 2008 and been realized by Groupon that still holds the sway over the world’s group buying industry.

Of late, tipadeal.com has started sailing in hot water of daily deals in the Arab peninsula and promised to publish bargains on foods, recreational activities, events, and digital goods.

Arab world heartily welcomes the digital couponing system that is driven mainly by discounts in bracket of 10 to 90 per cent. This is despite the fact that GCC, Levant, or generally MENA region has yet to have internet penetration that is remarkably profitable for the critically internet-dependent daily deal sites.

An estimate says there are 65 million internet users accounting for 19 per cent of total population. The outlook is bright as one forecast puts the numbers of users at 60 per cent by 2020. Growing usage of internet-enabled mobile phones is also giving a boost to the internet penetration.

Although online shopping is confined to niche, the meteoric rate with which it is growing indicates the promising future of ecommerce in the Middle East. Internet retailers ringed up one billion dollars in sales and online spending would shoot up to two billion dollars by 2016, according to the EuroMonitor International.

Particularly, in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt the internet usage is increasing very rapidly. More specifically, Dubai is emerging as an attraction to daily deal sites. Most of the group buying sites began operations in UAE by promoting daily deals in Dubai.

Despite the rapid progress of online discount market in Dubai, no one can say for sure how long it would take before one can see malls-going shoppers, food fans, fashionistas, and adventure enthusiasts casting around discount deals in Dubai over the internet to meet shopping needs.

Evidently, lingua franca and weak payment infrastructure act as obstacles in progress of internet retail industry.

Internet companies have Arabic versions to cater to the locals. There are still many sites that need to shift to Arabic content in the ME’s cyberspace. Unquestionably, Arabic language is the best means of conveying messages across the region, though urban centers have majority population with good comprehension of lingua franca primarily i.e. English. Typically, in Dubai where majority of people hail from outside the Arab peninsula, angelized deals in Dubai produce no less consumer impact.

On the other hand, there are some concerns related to the online payment transactions. The online retail market is developing at snail pace and perception about e-payments is generally negative. People fear they may lose money on internet due to spoofing or other cyber threats.

Market analysts call for tight regulations and firewalls to be put up by retailers to stave off cyber attacks and loss to consumer money.

Daily deal sites that offer dining deals or food coupons have convenient arrangement of cash on delivery, implying that buyers can shell out money minus discounts at the point of sale. This payment model is popular in Middle East where merchants can be seen cross matching coupon codes for verification.

Digitization is important to speed up the daily deal process and particularly redemption procedure that is the last stage of service for goods and services without home delivery.

About the Author

Dubai deals: Tipadeal is a group buying website offering daily deals of unique products, enthralling fun-filled activities, delectable foods, and tickets to coveted events to locals and foreigners in the bustling metropolis of Dubai.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Marvick-James/229031

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