THE ECOMMERCE

MARKET RESEARCH
REPORT 2020
THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK I

The
3 stage
guide to launching
your business online!

They’ve never heard of your

brand, don’t speak your
language, and might live half
a world away. Yet, despite the
complexities and challenges
of e-commerce, selling to
consumers all over the world
is an opportunity you simply
can’t resist.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK II

$4.9
trillion
USD by 2021,

“
Sales are expected to reach $4.9 trillion USD by 2021, and nearly 85% of the
world’s purchasing power exists outside the U.S.

This Ecommerce Playbook is your step-by-step framework for going online the
right way and conquer the ever-growing market. Whether you’re just considering
expansion or looking to scale your established operations faster, this comprehensive
playbook will simplify and reduce your risk.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK III

Index
01
Stage
Master your brilliant basics
Define the market segment (target market)
Define the geographic boundaries of the market
Define the competition
Define the market size
Estimate market share

02
Stage
Gear up with digital technologies
Build your store
Choose your sales channel
Plan your shipping and fulfillment elements
Plan your marketing strategies

03
Stage
Scale for growth
High Technology
Re-imagine localisation
Develop omnichannel experiences
THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 01

Stage 1

Master
your
brilliant
basics

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 02

Map new market

opportunities
6,542

5,695

4,927
Sales in billion U.S. dollors

4,206

3,535
2,982

2,382

1,845
1,548
1,336

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Key Highlights
Revenue in the eCommerce market The market’s largest segment is Fashion
amounts to US$2,234,950m in 2020. with a market volume of US$717,440m
in 2020.
The average revenue per user (ARPU)
currently amounts to US$535.09. Revenue is expected to show an annual
growth rate (CAGR 2020-2024) of
User penetration is 56.1% in 2020 and 7.6%, resulting in a market volume of
is expected to hit 65.5% by 2024. US$3,000,572m by 2024.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 03

International Growth
Reshapes the Map
Worldwide numbers aside, e-commerce’s regional markets rank as follows:

Europe

$346.5
billion
Asia
North America
$831.7
billion
$552.6
billion
Africa &
Middle East

$18.6
South America billion
$17.7 Australia
billion $18.6
billion

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 04

What Customer
wants?
The total annual amount spent on consumer e-commerce categories around the
world. in U.S. dollors

FASHION & BEAUTY ELECTRONICS & FOOD & PERSONAL CARE

PHYSICAL MEDIA

$524.9 $392.6 $209.5

billion billion billion

Furniture & Appliances Toys, Diy & Hobbies Travel

$272.5 $386.2 $750.7

billion billion billion

Digital Music VIDEO Games mobile and

accessories

$12.05 $70.56 $705.56

billion billion billion

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 05

Product-Market
Fit Varies by
Region and
Country

Making tactical decisions

on which geographies
to prioritize hinges on
product-market fit : that
is, validating existing
demand or opportunity
for your offerings within
new areas.
Thankfully, Nielsen’s Global
Connected Commerce report
provides a detailed breakdown of the
most-lucrative online industries by
region. Aligning those verticals with
your own provides a solid starting
point to guide global decisions.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 06

Align your market fit based on

what your customer wants.
2017 Change 2018

Asia Pacific North America

Fresh Grocery 35% 5% Video Gaming 31% 3%

Packed Grocery 40% 4% Packed Grocery 19% 2%

Video Gaming 30% 3% Medicine/Health 25% 1%

Home Care 37% 3% Alcoholic Beverages 9% 1%

Medicine/Health 29% 3%

Eastern Europe Western Europe

Fashion 49% 4% Personal Care 34% 2%

Event Tickets 41% 4% Furniture 28% 2%

Travel 40% 4% Restaurant Deliveries 18% 2%

Restaurant Deliveries 24% 3% Consumer Electronics 36% 2%

Personal Care 33% 3% Medicine/Health 22% 1%

Africa & Middle East Latin America

Fashion 35% 3% Personal Care 28% 4%

Video Gaming 17% 3% Alcoholic Beverages 9% 3%

Personal Care 22% 2% Pet 10% 3%

Restaurant Deliveries 23% 2% Travel 42% 2%

Baby and Children 10% 2% Home Care 9% 2%

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 07

Did you know?

INFORMATION GATHERING AND DEAL

SEEKING ARE THE PRIMARY ONLINE
SHOPPING ACTIVITIES
According to research from the Nielson group, here are the global top and bottom
online shopping activities for selected categories shopped or purchased in the past
six months.

Travel Product or Services Consumer Electronics

Beauty & Personal Care Product Fresh Groceries

63% 52% 46%

60% 52% 34%
54% 44% 35%
38% 39% 30%

Looked Up Product Checked / Compared Searched for deals/

Information Prices promotions / Coupons

10% 8% 4%
7% 5% 4%
9% 7% 7%
10% 7% 8%

Clicked an Email Subscribed to Product/ Liked / Tweeted /

Advertisement to find Store Emails Commented on a Product
out more

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 08

“
2018, Middle East Total Retail
consumer survey for example, found
that 53% of respondents now shop
with Amazon, up 4% since 2016
Strategic plans, competitive marketing, and a skilled workforce aside,
e-commerce organizations are expected to remain up to date with the latest
technologies.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 09

Key issues retail CEOs

identified around
technological change

Challenges around the lack of

1 Retailers urgently need to
2
digital talent in the market. pursue technological solutions

This is part of a broader issue Allow consumers quick and easy

in the middle east region with 1 return options for unwanted
in every four of Middle Eastern goods bought online. Customers
CEOs across all sectors believing seeking value are opting to
hiring outside of their industry is a use delivery platforms such as
potential solution to address the Aramex’s ‘shop and ship’.
skills gap.

Delivery & logistics continues to 3 Keeping pace with changing 4

be a challenge for some retailers. demands

Same-day delivery is no longer Mobile access to online

something that can be ignored information such as new product
as some retailers are delivering offerings, product reviews and
orders purchased online within price comparison sites continue
2-4 hours. We are also seeing to influence customers’ buying
some retailers investing in decisions and retailers need to be
technology to improve their on their toes.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 10

Key 88%
priorities Go Digital

for Middle
East retail 50%
Cost optimisation &

CEOs restructuring

50%
Demographics in the region also support
the growth of online:
Talent and training
60% of the population in the Middle East
and North Africa (MENA) is aged under
30
13%
Product offerings
In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC),
smartphone penetration was at 77% in
2018, according to the mobile-phone
industry body GSMA.
13%
VAT

“Mobile platforms have

increased in importance, so
13%
Acquisitions

much so that m-commerce

has emerged as a concept in
its own right. 13%
Growth & franchises

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 11

Did you know?

PWC survey in the

Middle East Total Retail
consumer survey, found that
53% of respondents now shop
with Amazon, up 4% since 2016.
Using the site also influences
customers broader shopping habits:
45% start their product search
on Amazon, and 41% use it
to check prices.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 12

Qatar
Amazon, Lulu, Souq,
IKEA Bahrain
Egypt JadoPado, Alshop, Souq,
Jumia, Souq Namshi

Who are
the Middle
East’s biggest
ecommerce Oman
players
Lulu, Ali Express,
Souq

Kuwait
Xcite, Ubuy,
Souq

UAE Saudi Arabia

Souq, Nahel, Sukar, Ali Express, Amazon,
JadoPado eBay, Souq

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 13

STAGE 2
DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 14

Starting an e-commerce
business is hard work
and demands lots of
steps and decisions that
need to come together
at the right time.
Technological advancements have had a huge impact on the e-commerce
world, changing the way consumers connect with brands. It has empowered
them to shop more cost-effectively. Driven by the convenience of door delivery,
e-commerce has now become an integral part of everyday life.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 15

How Technology
Empowers e-commerce
Businesses?

5
min

Real Time Tracking

Filter By

All That Jazz

+
$24:00

White Shirt
+
$24:00

Checkout

Multiple Payment
iOS/Android Apps
Mode

Social Sign- Ups

Chat Support

Customer Ordering App & Website

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 16

Delivered
Austin Singleton
On the way austin@124
Analytics & Reporting
Don Stanley
Agent Tracking stanley_007

User Management

Manage Categories View All Manage Vendor View All

Tshirts Nike
Dale Houstan sent you 147 items 1560 products
a message.
Shirts Adidas
154 items 2563 products
Hey John! order is $2k/mo 72%
delivered successfully. Total Revenue % Growth (MOM)

Push Notifications

Admin Dashboard

Earning Reports Dilivery Route Contact

1-7 Sep,2019
300

225

150

75
Pickup ( 2 mins )

Optimized Routes Easy to Use

0
M T W T F SA SU
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Total Payout : 304.00

Destination
Feb 5 2019 - Delivery

Share Availabilty Philip Estrada

162 VonRueden Wall Apt. 956

Order Received
07 Apr, 07:00 PM - Delivery 8:30 am, Jan 31 2019
Stephen Shaw
3704 Rolfson Fords Apt. 727 2300 Winchester On The Way
07 Apr, 06:00 PM - Delivery 10:30 am, Jan 31, 2019
Decline 00:45 Accept
3704 Rolfson Fords Apt. 727 10km 20 min
Distance Ride Time Update Status View Details
Decline 00:45 Accept
Cancel Complete

Delivery Driver’s App

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 17

Omnichannel presence
The statistics show that 90% of customers expect smooth interactions across
multiple channels and devices, highlighting the importance of omnichannel
readiness for today’s businesses.

Nearly every user action online is captured and stored, creating a vast pool of
information that you can use to personalize communication.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 18

Chatbots
Chatbots are excellent conversational
marketing tools capable of handling
multiple conversations.

Live chat
Live chat allows your support teams to
communicate with customers through live
messaging. You can initiate a preemptive chat
invitation to particular customers based on their
behavior.

62 Percent of Generation Z and

Millennial Consumers Want
Visual Search Capabilities,
More Than Any Other New
Technology

Image search
Ecommerce businesses are integrating image search technology on their
websites so customers can easily photograph products they are interested in.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 19

“
50 percent of Gen Z
respondents prefer
brands to deliver
recommendations based
on their own buying
behavior.

Extensive personalization
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning analytics drive customer behavior
patterns, simultaneously interpreting this data.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 20

QV
C

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 21

Fulfillment options
Of the many reasons online consumers give for abandoning their cart, some of
the most common excuses revolve around problems with fulfillment.

More specifically, we’re talking about:

Shipping Lengthy Lack of delivery

costs shipping times options

Of course, it’s impossible to please everyone in this

regard—and do so profitably.

You can offer your own delivery, completely controlled from your
warehouse to the customer’s doorstep. The E-commerce delivery tracking
management software acts as a connection between you and logistic
companies.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 22

Bridging this gap helps you carry out

hassle-free, seamless pickup and delivery
operations, with real-time tracking &
management. You can now get better visibility
and grab a larger customer base, with its focus
only on customer service. The management of
the logistics, as well as field agents, are taken
care of by this simplest workforce management
platform.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 23

Plan your marketing

strategies
Understanding consumer behaviour

How many are

buying online

According to survey portal Statista,

ecommerce user penetration in the
Middle East and Africa region stood
at 54.6% in 2018 and would grow to
58.8% by 2022.

Who is buying online

PwC’s Total Retail Survey, found out
that younger people were more likely
to shop online in the Middle East,
with 36% of those who were aged
between 18-24 shopped online, at
least once a month.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 24

Why are they buying

40%- Better prices
31% - greater product selection
17% - convenience

What are they

buying online
54%- Books, music, movies
48%- Health and Beauty
44%- Electronics and computer
42%- Jewellery and Watches,
41%- Clothing and Footwear
35%- Furniture and Homeware,
31%- Household Appliances

Surprisingly, online groceries were a category that wasn’t as popular yet in the
region with only 27% of people admitting to buying them online.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 25

How are they buying

online
56% of Middle Eastern shoppers
were on mobile devices while
shopping online and 52% of them
were influenced by social media
reviews while making a purchase.

Did you know?

Although PwC states that 80%

of Middle Eastern Ecommerce
sales were paid for through
Cash On Delivery, UAE is again
an outlier here, as according
to Souq.com, over 60% of their
transactions were through
credit cards.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 26

STAGE 3
Scale
for
growth

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 27

Use of
technology
The Middle Eastern
market is also going to reflect
similar tech trends as other
markets across the globe, with
increasing use of big data
analytics, artificial intelligence,
chatbots, faster delivery
means, mobile payments, and
omnichannel retailing, all
used to aid commerce.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 28

Reimagine Localisation
Language and localisation are very important aspects of commerce in the Middle
East as even the Arabic dialect can vary widely across markets. Brands have
slowly started to understand this and have started to model their online presence
according to each market’s preferences.

Ecommerce Translation Size Conversions

Use AI based solution & autonomous Increase conversions and reduce
machine learning to deliver affordable returns by converting sizes into
automated human quality local chart standards at brand and
translations merchant levels.

Currency Conversion International Payments

Convert item prices based on current Provide localised, secure and hosted
exchange rates. international checkout process.

Local Marketing & SEO Shipping Optimization

Enable international search engine Ensure same day delivery and offer
to index content and improve search convenience to your customer using
performance. delivery management software.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 29

User-friendly design
Shoppers at physical storefronts are aware of the store layout, cleanliness, and
ease of finding products and information.

Color scheme
A website that’s hard on the eyes will turn off some
users. Make sure the text is clearly visible in contrast
to the background and the colors reflect your brand
— in a good way.

Navigation
No matter how informative the content or attractive
the products, consumers need to find it. Simple
navigation that clearly points users in the right direction
is essential for maximizing the hard work you put in to
assemble inventory

Layout
Much like navigation, the page itself needs to be
presented in an attractive manner. Don’t clutter
the page with too much info: use tabbed menus
if necessary so browsers aren’t overwhelmed.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 30

The omnichannel future

With the young, tech savvy population, high smartphone and internet penetration
and well established retail network, we can see that retail in the Middle East is
going to grow across channels. Ecommerce and brick & mortar retail would work
at helping each channel sell more as more mature markets across the world
have shown. Retailers today must focus on getting online and making consumer
experience seamless and connected across all channels to unlock their next phase
of growth.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 31

Being present
across
marketplaces
As a brand, it’s important today to have
presence in the major marketplaces in
the Middle East. Marketplaces such as
Souq, Noon, Namshi, eBay, Amazon
etc. can be a great way to reach more
consumers and increase sales.

Having your
brand’s own
ecommerce
site
Ecommerce consumers in the Middle
East are not just restricted to purchase
from online marketplaces, but
increasingly are buying directly from the
brands that they trust.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 32

Making
consumer
experience
Future ready
seamless
to extend and
This means fast intuitive, responsive
consumer websites and mobile ready grow
‘app like experiences’ on Progressive
Fast go-to-market time, multi-country,
Web Apps.
language, currency support, easy set-
up and run websites and promotions,
ready integrations with POS, logistics,
payment gateways, ERPs, etc.

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK 33

Personalising
experiences
& socialising
engagement
You also need to look into availability
of services such as Conversion
Rate Optimisation, Search Engine
Optimisation, Digital and Social Media
Marketing to reach your consumers and
convert them.

Ensuring
consumer trust
Finally, your ecommerce platform needs
to be completely scalable, having the
ability to auto adjust to handle any
traffic or order volume

© Code Brew Labs

THE E-COMMERCE PLAYBOOK

DOES SUCCESS
OF E-COMMERCE
BUSINESSES LIKE
AMAZON, SOUQ, EBAY,
ALI EXPRESS, LULU
INSPIRES YOU?

NOW Is The Right Time To Get Started!

Let’s Build The Next Inspiring E-commerce Business Together.

+1 408-217-1185 [email protected] www.code-brew.com