Category: Reports

MasterCard Survey: Online Shopping In UAE Peaks In Fourth Quarter Of 2008

MMM

United Arab EmiratesPer capita online shopping in the UAE reached $1,193 (Dh4,378) in the fourth quarter of 2008, making it the highest in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region, according to the latest MasterCard survey.

Online shoppers made an average of 3.6 purchases in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with 3.1 during the same quarter in 2007.

Shoppers in the UAE conducted 26% of their overall shopping online, and 59% of them splashed out on airline tickets – the number one purchase according to the report.

Around 37% of people surveyed bought home appliances and electronic products and 30% paid for hotel accommodation online.

Surprisingly, not only have UAE consumers shopped more frequently despite the economic situation, they’ve also showed an increased intention for future online shopping compared to a year ago, with 60% of respondents expressing that were “likely” or “very likely” to shop online.

[Source: Gulf News]

Over 69% Of UAE Consumers Have Bought Something Online

MMM 6 Comments

Google recently hosted a day for the top agencies in UAE, in an initiative to point businesses to the hotspots in online media.

In preparation for the Agency Day, Google surveyed 1,410 consumers in UAE about their purchasing behaviour, and was able to build an accurate picture of online/offline research and purchase segmentation, use of search engines and attitudes to online shopping in UAE in 2009.

The data gathered from the survey was revealed to the agencies as part of the training, aiming to stress on the importance of getting online. The results reflected the increasing sophistication of consumers in purchasing behaviors and the need for businesses to update their online presence to capture this market.

The main highlights from the UAE report are:

  • More than 69% of respondents have bought something online.
  • Amongst UAE residents, the Internet is the ‘information tool’ used most often when researching possible purchases across a range of categories including digital cameras/camcorders, mobile phones, cars as well as hotel reservations.
  • Search engines are the most used source of online research information (81% of respondents). Manufacturer websites (49%), Directories and local listings (27%), retailer websites (26%), and online auction websites (25%) are also very popular.
  • Search engines are used most for research in relation to technology (67%) and travel (48%) products.
  • Google is the preferred search engine in the UAE with (58% preferring google.com and 38% preferring google.ae)
  • In general, as a mean average across the 20 products listed in the survey, 11% of all product purchases were researched and purchased online; 28% were researched online but purchased offline; 5% were researched offline but purchased online; and 56% were researched and purchased offline.
  • Credit and debit cards (64% of respondents) are the most common payment method when making online purchases
  • 74% of the UAE online users notice sponsored links, and of those who do notice them 7% almost always, 6% regularly, 45% sometimes and 22% seldomly click on them.
  • While one third of UAE respondents say the current economic crisis has not changed their shopping habits, an almost equal proportion say the recent financial turmoil has led to less of their shopping being done online. This may be related to the fact that many of their online purchases may have fallen more into the ‘non-essential/leisure’ categories (i.e. travel and event tickets) which people choose to cut out during difficult economic times.
  • In the UAE, English (76% of respondents) is by far the most popular ‘search’ language (likely to be related to the highly multinational nature of UAE society) vs. 23% preferring to search in Arabic.

Oman Internet Users Spent US$ 236 Million Online In 2008

MMM 2 Comments

Flag of OmanA new Arab Advisors‘ survey of Oman’s Internet users revealed that 40.2% of adult Internet users in Oman have used e-commerce services, at more than 158,000 which is around 5.62% of the total population in Oman, spending US$ 236 million in e-commerce transactions in 2008.

The survey of Internet users in Oman was concluded by the Arab Advisors Group on January 29, 2009 and released on March 5th under the title ‘Oman Internet Users and E-commerce Survey 2009’.

The survey covered the Internet usage, e-commerce, cellular and Pay TV usage and habits of the online community in Oman. The survey’s online field work was conducted during January 2009.

Respondents were randomly targeted by receiving an email shot in their inbox to ask them to fill the survey in cooperation with Oman’s incumbent telecom operator, Omantel. The survey results encompass answers from 696 respondents that passed Arab Advisor’s quality control checks. The survey was conducted on the general Internet population that is above 18 years of age. Arab Advisors claim the online survey yields a confidence level of 99% with a margin of error of less than 5%.

According to the report, VoIP usage among Internet users reached 27.0%. 20.7% of total respondents use special software packages (Skype, GoogleTalk, etc) to make calls through the Internet. The majority of respondents (73.0%) do not make calls through the Internet.

The Arab Advisors Group divided the survey questionnaire into four main sections: Telecommunications, Internet, e-services and Pay TV.

Mobile Internet Users On The Rise In The Middle East

MMM

Mobile InternetMore Middle East business people used mobile devices to hook on to the internet last month, compared with February 2007, while fewer used computers, a just released survey showed.

The survey, presented to the Digital Marketing Conference in Dubai by the Dubai-based research company Real Opinions, said computers were still by far the main way to connect to the internet.

The percentage who regularly logged in to the web with their mobiles increased from 33.5 per cent to 40 per cent.

Numbers of people using desktops to log in decreased from 63.50 per cent to 58.93 per cent, while those using laptops slid from 82.80 per cent to 81.35 per cent.

Mr Dan Healy, the chief executive of Real Opinions, said mobile device users tended to be professionals and high-end targets for advertisers.

“This is a select group of business internet users,” he said. “These are people with authority and relatively high disposable income, which are the target group for the travel industry, the hotels and the airlines. “This gives advertisers more creative ways to access them.”

The survey, of 446 business internet users in the region, also found they spend far more time using the internet than they do with any other kind of media.
The survey said users spent an average of 3.51 hours a day surfing online, compared with 2.28 hours watching television.

But it found that, while internet use dominated other media in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon, radio was stronger in the morning rush hour, and television was stronger in the evening.

Most respondents, 58 per cent, said the current economic climate had affected their organisation’s budget for marketing and advertising, but 37 per cent also said it had increased their organisation’s interest in internet marketing.

[Source: The National]

Media Experts Think 80% Of Arab Advertising Will Go Digital

MMM 2 Comments

Media experts believe that the current financial crisis, in tandem with the fast changing demographics of the region will turn as much as 80 per cent of advertising to digital platforms such as internet and mobile phones.

Speaking at a conference, titled “Coping with Change, Yes, We can”, at the Dubai Press Club, some of the region’s media experts conveyed that the current projections for ad spent on print media will hold on to a mere 20 per cent, while digital platforms will grab the rest in a few years’ time.

Echoing the findings of the latest edition of the Arab Media Outlook 2008-2012, some speakers said that broadband would make a strong impact on the media scene, bringing better efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

The new edition of the Arab Media Outlook, the media analysis recently brought out by Dubai Press Club in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers, has revealed that demographic factors are among the principal reasons why the Arab World is most suitable for the growth of new forms of media, such as digital media and mobile TV.

The report based its conclusions on extensive research in 12 Arab countries, says that one common feature across all 12 markets is that young people make up a relatively high percentage of the population. “Over 50 per cent of the population in Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco and Egypt are estimated to be currently less than 25 years old, while in the rest of the countries the under-25 ‘net generation’ makes up around 35 per cent to 47 per cent of total population,” said the report.

The seminar, which saw a detailed discussion on rapid changes in the media industry and the challenges posed by the current financial meltdown, was addressed by Richard Withey, Dr Ali Al-Assam, Managing Director of KnowledgeView Ltd, Francis Matthew, Editor-at-large, Gulf News and Magdi Hannah, Press IT supervisor, Abu Dhabi Media company.

Personally, with all due respect to the speakers and their opinions, and even though I’m pretty optimistic about the outlook for online advertising in the Arab world over these coming years, and am on the side that thinks this financial crisis will grow the market of digital advertising, I still think a growth from around 1% of overall advertising budgets to 80% in just a few years is a bit exaggerated, and neither is it healthy.

Middle East Online Ad Spend Set To Grow By Up To 35% In 2009

MMM 5 Comments

Regional spending on online advertising is expected to grow by 25-35 percent as a result of the downturn, as we witness a greater shift from print to online advertising, according to a study titled “Game Not Over”, that was recently released by global management consultant firm, Booz & Company.

According to Gabriel Chahine, a partner at Booz & Company, “Online advertising is cheaper compared to other mediums such as television and print and is far more targeted. It offers better investment and a better return.”

The report says that around 90 percent of marketers are focused on campaigns that are cross-platform and inclusive of digital media while 80 percent believe insights into consumer’s digital behaviour will become more important to their brands.

Online advertising spending in the GCC-Levant countries remains below 1 percent of the total globally, according to a recent study by Madar Research. 

Chahine thinks that growth of online advertising is hampered in the Middle East by a lack of supply of regional products and that companies head to Google, Yahoo and Facebook for online advertising because of a lack of compelling offerings from the Arab world.

On the other hand the report states that just 25 percent of marketers consider themselves savvy enough to capitalise on opportunities in online advertising, which I think is the bigger reason why online advertising hasn’t taken off in the region.

The report says that marketers’ key concerns include the efficacy of digital metrics, the need for greater education and new models so they can build a more effective advertising presence online.

[Source: Arabian Business]

Report: MENA Advertising Growth To Double In 2009

MMM 1 Comment

An industry report released by ZenithOptimedia, a media-buying arm of one of the world’s largest advertising firms, Publicis Group, says 2009 advertising growth for the MENA region will grow by 10 percent, nearly the double of this year’s expected growth rate of 5.8 percent.

Egypt should be a strong contributor to the growth of advertising in the region, with most of the gains coming from the GCC and the growing pan-Arab advertising market.

This stands out against a gloomy worldwide outlook, forecasting a 0.2 percent drop in advertising spend next year, with the North American market taking the worst hit, expected to decline 5.7 percent. 

Internet advertising is expected to grow 18 percent next year though, both globally and in the North American market, taking a 15.6 percent share of global ad expenditures in 2011, 5.2 percentage points ahead of magazines and 5.6 points behind newspapers. The gap between internet and newspapers currently stands at 15.1 points.

Reduced advertising budgets are expected to help boost internet advertising, which costs fractions of what it costs to advertise via traditional media, and offers advertisers a clear way to track audience.

The report also expects television to do relatively well in the downturn, making up a record 38.5 percent of global ad expenditure in 2010 and 2011.

Report: Private Equity in the MENA Region (October 2008)

MMM

Global Investment HouseAccording to a report by Kuwait-based Global Investment House, titled “Private Equity in the MENA Region”, the spending power of the region’s growing middle class is influencing a shift in investment focus away from oil & gas to service-based and consumer-oriented businesses.

During the period from 2007 till H1-2008, investments made were highest in the Basic Materials sector with a total of US$1,422mn worth investments. It was followed by Healthcare sector (11% of all investments) followed by Financial Services (11%), Transport (8%), Oil and Gas (7%) and Services (5%) sectors.
Basic materials sector was again influenced by the US$1.4bn investment in Egyptian Fertilizers Company.

As the economies and population of the region will grow, social infrastructure needs in healthcare and education will increase and these will be the sectors that private equity players would look for.

The Telecoms and IT sector got only 1% of all investments in the period from 2007 till H1-2008, of which I’m sure only a tiny fraction made it to internet and technology startups.

Mobile Subscribers Sector In Saudi Arabia To Expand By 27%

MMM

Saudi ArabiaThe mobile subscribers sector in Saudi Arabia will expand by over 27 per cent in 2008, lifting the official mobile penetration rate to 144 per cent, according to Business Monitor International (BMI).

The launch of commercial services by new entrant Saudi Zain is expected to further stimulate the market.

The BMI report, made available to Khaleej Times, noted that according to the Saudi regulator, the number of mobile users in the kingdom had reached 28.4 million at the end of 2007. This was after having grown by over 44 per cent during the year. Mobile penetration at the end of 2007 stood at just over 116 per cent. By the end of March 2008, the number of Saudi mobile subscribers had estimatedly grown to 30.7 million.

“Growth in 2007 was actually stronger than in 2006, and this leads us to believe that much of the sector’s recent growth has been based on the addition of new prepaid users,” it explained.

Meanwhile, regulatory figures indicate that Saudi Arabia had 4 million operational fixed lines at the end of 2007. This is slightly less than the previous estimate of 4.129 million lines. According to the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), the fixed line sector as a whole saw very little growth during 2007; combined with an expanding population, this meant that Saudi Arabia’s fixed-line penetration rate decreased from 16.8 per cent at the end of 2006 to 16.4 per cent by the end of 2007.

Read More

Up To August, 1.2 Million Dinars Invested In Online Advertising In Tunisia In 2008

MMM 1 Comment

TunisiaAccording to estimative numbers released by Tunisian market research firm Sigma Conseil, that cover the first eight months of 2008, a total investment of 1.2 Million Dinars  (US$ 930,000) has been made in online advertising, a third of which is by the Telecom sector, followed by the Financial and Automotive sectors.

The study shows that Tunisiana, the private mobile operator that is a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom, is on the top of the list of online advertisers, followed by the Arab Tunisian Bank (ATB), TopNet (an Internet service provider), Hannibal Lease, ANG Consulting and Tunisie Télécom (Public mobile and fixed line operator).

In a previous study released in the beginning of 2008, Sigma Conseil estimated the total investment in online advertising in 2007 at only 2% of the total advertising budget in Tunisia which was estimated at 100 Million Dinars (US$ 77 Million).

So mainly, even though there was a 1% growth in online advertising in Tunisia from 2005/2006 to 2007, according to Sigma Conseil’s numbers 2008 isn’t showing that much growth so far in comparison to last year.