UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have seen online sales of skincare and makeup rise by up to 700 per cent.
Consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are increasingly ordering online amid the coronavirus pandemic with sales of non-essential items skyrocketing in recent weeks, a new report said.
E-commerce technology and digital marketing company ITCAN reported on Thursday that online orders for skincare and makeup products in the UAE, as well as Saudi Arabia, soared by more than 200 per cent and up to 700 per cent as consumers sought to avoid public places. The company had examined site visits of retail customers between 26 February and 26 March in the two Gulf countries.
Industry sources have said that the pandemic, coupled with heightened social distancing and stay-at-home campaigns by government authorities, has proved to a boon for e-commerce. Several supermarkets in the UAE saw an unprecedented increase in online grocery sales even before the government closed down shopping malls and public places.
Early in March, companies in the big box retailing and e-commerce sectors reported between 70 per cent to 100 per cent increase in online sales. French hypermarket brand Carrefour later reported a 300 per cent surge in transactions.
ITCAN’s research found that the rate of online orders for skincare in the UAE jumped by 143.96 per cent, with 99.9 per cent of the increase coming from new users, revealing a conversion rate of 33.45 per cent in terms of website visitors.
