Infographic Alert: E-Commerce Booming in the Middle East

According to an infographic from Go-Gulf.com, e-commerce in the Middle East is booming, with seemingly unprecedented growth just on the horizon.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a collection of six Middle Eastern countries – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman – has 90 million internet users. In 2012 those users spent over $9 billion online. Predictions state that by 2015, the region will be spending $15 billion online.

Games, computer software, electronics, clothes and accessories are the most popular e-commerce purchases in the GCC, but other categories such as books and educational products are popular.

Here are some highlights of the graphic:

52-53% of shoppers older than 26 in the region shop online, while only 31% of shoppers less than 16 shop online – presumably because of permissions to do so.
68% of shoppers in the region are male.
– The most commonly used method of online shopping in the region is through pre-paid cards.

Check out the graphic below for full details.

ecommerce-middle-east-infographic