10 innovations in…

Issue 13, August 2014

e-Commerce in the Middle East

MENA is among the fastest growing e-Commerce regions

worldwide, with an estimated 45% year on year growth.

The largest e-Commerce markets in MENA are:

KSA $520m

Qatar $375m

Kuwait $280m

Vis

a M

E: h

ttp://b

it.ly/1

iOG

wo

P D

igita

l Po

rtal: h

ttp://b

it.ly/1

eZ

TT

nE

As this market grows here are 10 innovations from the

region – and around the world – which caught our eye.

1. Shopping through social media

When you ‘like’ an image on Vogue’s Instagram page you can

buy the items in the image, or products with a similar “look”.

Click on

the

pictures

to learn

more

Tech Crunch: http://tcrn.ch/QQr8Re and Daily Mail: http://dailym.ai/1kbHlNY

2. #tag to buy

Companies like Amazon use “Hashtag Shopping”

Customers can type “#AmazonCart” whilst using

Twitter and then confirm their order via email.

Marketing Magazine: http://bit.ly/1g4Xy13

3. Pinterest-like apps

‘Keep’ and ‘Fancy’ are apps which combine social media

elements (sharing, ‘liking’, ‘commenting’) with shopping.

Tech Crunch: http://bit.ly/1pOCbab Mashable: http://on.mash.to/1myEIoq Images: http://bit.ly/1kBRHGa and http://bit.ly/1kJwl4R

4. Buy sheep on Instagram

You probably

already knew you

can order clothes,

shoes and even

food on Instagram…

…But did you know

you can also order

sheep?

Storify: http://bit.ly/Vw75dh

5. Linking artisans to Etsy + eBay

Anou is a mobile website allowing Moroccan artisans with low

tech-skills to sell items directly to online buyers around the globe.

Anou: http://bit.ly/1pr4wF6 Wamda: http://bit.ly/1yMhfn8

6. The “Arab PayPals”

CashU has +500K users.

PayFort yielded $800M in

transactions during 1 year.

Arabian business: http://bit.ly/1o3rVvi Images: http://bit.ly/1oUXVDR and https://www.cashu.com/

They aim to reduce

regional concerns

about the safety of

online transactions.

7. Want it in that a color?

There’s an app for that!

Take a picture of any color

you like using your phone…

… And the ‘Look 4 Color’

app links you to products in

20 different online stores

carrying your chosen shade.

Google Play: http://bit.ly/1uhila2

8. Creative use of QR codes

Mashable: http://on.mash.to/1ouHb2z Ad Madness: http://bit.ly/1ouI6jI

A magazine ad from Viking Footwear

uses QR codes to showcase

different shoe styles in 3D.

Click the video to see how it works

9. Bitcoin ATM

Bitcoin (introduced in 2009) is perhaps the world’s best

known virtual currency. It is now accepted by many

online retailers and also available from ATMs worldwide:

CNN Money: http://cnnmon.ie/1bIhAkb Map: http://bit.ly/Yk6iOt Image: http://bit.ly/Vvtdoj

10. Online only

groceries in UAE & Qatar

SuperMart &

Fresh Qatar

deliver items to

home-shoppers

across the UAE

and Qatar.

They don’t have

offline stores.

Storify: http://bit.ly/1kLksC9

Disclaimer: All content in these slides is in the public domain and referenced so that you can read the original sources.

Contact Us: rassed@ict.gov.qa

Twitter: @ictqatar

Spotted an innovation we missed?

Visit our SlideShare channel for our quarterly Digital Digests

and previous issues of our monthly Tech Top 10:

http://www.slideshare.net/ictQATAR/