Online Shopping – StartUpArabia

Cobone Now Powering Etisalat’s More Rewards Daily Deals Site

September 13, 2011September 13, 2011 MMM 18 Comments

In a move to introduce exciting new offers to its customers, Etisalat’s ‘More’ loyalty rewards program has teamed up with Cobone to provide them with daily deals and more ways to gain more value.

This is being introduced as a new feature on Etisalat’s ‘More’ Rewards website, giving ‘More’ loyalty program members the opportunity to make significant savings as well as gain ‘More’ reward points when visiting the site for “special deals”. The deals on the exclusive site are powered by Cobone’s deal-of-the-day platform.

This is an interesting move for Cobone, who it seems have worked on some redevelopment and redesign to be able to support such integration, to expand their reach beyond their site and onto partner sites and platforms such as the Etisalat one.

Mizalla: A Lebanese Online Shopping Mall Platform

September 4, 2011September 4, 2011 MMM 4 Comments

Mizalla; a Lebanese online services, marketing, and retailing company; has launched a new online shopping mall site, that gathers various retailers offering hundreds of brands and products under one platform.

At this initial stage, the products available on the site are mainly electronics (cameras, home theatre televisions, software, laptops, scanners, computers …etc.), but the plan is to incorporate additional categories on a monthly basis to include items like books, clothing apparel, kitchenware, cosmetics and more.

Mizalla, which means Umbrella, aims to provide shoppers, the main focus being Lebanese shoppers at this point, with a comprehensive solution that enables them to easily search for products from different brands, compare them, order online and get them shipped as quickly as possible, all from the comfort of their homes or offices.

Logta Expands And Launches Online Mall With Retailer Stores

April 8, 2011April 8, 2011 MMM 6 Comments

Logta the online service that provides shoppers with a one-stop shop for promotions, that was previously covered here, has expanded and released what they’re describing as an online mall.

They’ve gone ahead and launched a new section under their portal called Logta Mall, with a wide range of online stores for a number of retailers covering various sectors and offering their products for sale online through Logta’s new platform.

So to build up towards a B2C model, Logta’s sales team get in touch and work with a variety of retailers in order to put together partnerships, through which Logta sets stores for them on the platform with all the products they want to put up for sale, and then handle all the order processing, online payments and shipping follow-up.

Matajer: A Hosted Arab E-Commerce Solution For Online Stores

April 4, 2011April 4, 2011 MMM 6 Comments

E-commerce could very well be one of the hardest areas for an online startup from the Arab world to establish itself in, with many attempting to make breakthroughs in this space over the years and only a few barely making it, even though we have yet to witness THE big success.

Matajer is taking a stab at this space from a different angle, not by launching their own store or trying to become the one central shopping destination for regional users, not even by jumping on the daily deal bandwagon, but rather by providing a comprehensive solution to enable companies to easily create their own online stores to start selling their products online right away.

By doing this, Matajer is mainly focusing on providing the technical platform required to run an online store, but leaving the actual running and promotion of the store to the companies who choose to start them up.

MasterCard Survey: Jump In UAE Online Shopping Growth Rate

April 2, 2011April 2, 2011 MMM 2 Comments

The percentage of respondents in the UAE accessing the Internet for shopping increased from 29% in 2009 to 42% in 2010 according to the results of a recent MasterCard survey on online shopping.

Results of the fourth survey on online shopping conducted by MasterCard also revealed that growth in the UAE is led by consumers within the age group of 25-44 years, while those in the 35-44 years age group also purchased more items and more frequently than others.

Involvement with online shopping also increased among women in the UAE, with 40% of respondents accessing the internet for online shopping in 2010, compared to 33% in 2011.

Categories leading the growth in the UAE in 2010 include airline tickets (74%) and hotel bookings (66%), followed by home appliances and electronic products (32%), clothing & accessories (34%), restaurants/home delivery of food (32%) and supermarkets/superstores (32%).

Video: Online Shopping Portal Nahel.com At Dubai Tech Nights

August 24, 2010August 24, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Nahel.com is an online shopping portal based out of Dubai, United Arab Emirates; that aims to become the biggest B2C online retailer in the region.

Nahel.com was founded by Saeid Hejazi, and was officially launched in July 2009. It currently only covers the UAE, although there are plans to expand to the GCC region, with hopes to reach the whole Middle East in the future.

They’ve worked on building an inventory of thousands of new brand-name products covering several categories, from electronics, to games to perfumes, watches and clothing. They source products from wholesalers and distributors in order to be competitive in terms of selection, quality and prices.

Cobone, A Group Buying Venture From Jabbar Internet Group

August 13, 2010August 13, 2010 MMM 3 Comments

Cobone is a new startup that is looking at using the power of group purchasing in order to offer its users the best deals, allowing them to save on the things they want.

Cobone aims to offer online shoppers in the Middle East region one deal everyday from every city’s best hotels, goods, services, meals, spas and more; with savings they say will start at 50%.

Shoppers are encouraged to invite friends, colleagues and family to join in on daily deals so as to increase their own chances of successfully making a purchase. Customers will also be given the flexibility to purchase coupons for themselves or their friends using a selection of online payment options, from credit cards to other options like CashU (another Jabbar company) and PayPal.

Otlobmall.com: A New Online Shopping Destination For Egypt

August 11, 2010August 11, 2010 MMM 1 Comment

Otlob.com, the online food ordering service, is building on their success and experience, by making a new push into online shopping through their recently launched portal called Otlobmall.com.

Otlobmall.com allows users to shop online for a variety of products in different categories, including electronics, mobile phones, beauty products, sports, jewelry, apparel, books and magazines and gifts.

Purchased products are delivered directly to the purchaser’s home or designated delivery address and can be paid for either online or by cash on delivery.

Nahel.com, A New UAE Online Shopping Destination

September 19, 2009September 19, 2009 MMM 9 Comments

In an Arab internet scene where e-commerce remains largely untapped, Nahel.com from Dubai is a very welcome addition, with a very big goal: to establish itself as a prime B2C online retailer.

The idea behind Nahel.com was conceived back in 2007, with its original business plan born as the first place winner in the University of Toronto’s Business Plan Competition.

Over the past 2 years Nahel sold products through other existing online markets, like Souq.com, and were involved in all aspects of selling products online. After building the experience and community, Nahel went a step further, and launched its independent e-commerce portal, offering a full e-commerce experience to its clients, from the moment they log on to the website all the way to post-sale services.

To make it as easy as possible for people to pay for items they buy on Nahel, several payment methods are provided: from Cash on delivery, to credit cards, PayPal and Nahel gift certificates.

Nahel.com was founded by Saeid Hejazi, and was officially launched in July 2009 from Dubai, UAE. It currently only covers the UAE, although there are plans to expand to the GCC region and maybe the whole Middle East in the future.

IMRG Capgemini: Online Shopping On The Rise In The Middle East

September 2, 2009September 2, 2009 MMM

According to the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index, online sales showed a significant increase this year across the Middle East.

Shoppers spent US$8.2 billion online in July 2009, 15.7% more than was spent in June 2009 and 16.8% more than July 2008.

The driving force for the increase appeared to be the clothing, footwear and accessories sector, which showed growth of 18% month on month and 17% year on year.

Retailers across Middle East are predicted to sell US$90 billion in goods and services online in 2010, up 37% from last year.

E-commerce is still a key growth market for the Middle East and has seems to have shifted more into focus for a number of retailers in the midst of the Global recession.

[Source: BI-ME]