9 September 2015.
2016 will be a year of considerable change for the Middle Eastern ecommerce market, according to research by Frost and Sullivan.
The study predicts that four new technologies will take off next year: ecommerce sites, augmented reality, smart shelves and robotic assistants.
A spokesperson from the Dubai World Trade Centre said that retailers must embrace these new technologies in order to survive in an increasingly digital world, saying: “Regional retailers are increasingly under pressure to captivate customers and drive sales, and Internet of Things-related technology solutions will be integral in converging brick and mortar and online stores.”
The Middle East ecommerce market is worth around 14 billion US dollars currently, with this predicted to rise to 20 billion US dollars by 2020.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt are the countries with the largest ecommerce markets.
