The majority are buying clothes (47 per cent), followed by food (37 per cent) and electronics (33 per cent). Customers from the GCC constitute the largest majority of youth who prefer card payments with 65 per cent preferring to pay online, while just 35 per cent of youth in North Africa, where the vast majority remain unbanked, prefer to pay online. While the pace of growth is substantial, the region’s e-commerce sector remains underdeveloped when compared to other markets in the world. But growth of 25-30 per cent is expected per year for e-commerce in Mena, reaching $28 billion by 2022, about 7 per cent of the total retail market. The Arab Youth Survey is commissioned yearly by Dubai-based public relations firm Asda’a BCW, and looks at 15 countries across Mena, conducting more than 3000 face to face interviews with those aged 18-24.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 01, 2019 02:03 UTC