The State of Digital Commerce in MENA 2024
Processing volume
The remarkable increase evident in consumer data is corroborated by our own transaction data in the MENA region. Indeed,Checkout.com’s total processing volume in the region has increased by 658% from the start of 2020 to December 2023. Furthermore, we continue to see growth in total processing volume year-over-year, this has reached a staggering 78% in processing volumes for the region 2023 vs 2022.
This means that in the past 12 months, we have seen an even higher rate of growth than we saw in 2020 when the world flocked to digital commerce as a means of survival. Today this is not a matter of survival but of customer habit, preference, and sheer demand.
🔹 High-frequency shopping
The number of shoppers across the region who now report shopping online at least once per day has grown by 80% since 2020. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the growth in the number of consumers shopping daily over the past 48 months has seen a staggering 90% growth! This means an estimated 2.6 million Saudi shoppers now pay for things online at least once a day.
🔹 The rise of digital wallets
There is no doubt that the way we pay has undergone tremendous change in recent years. Although contactless and mobile payment methods became more popular during the pandemic. Now, more than 48 months down the line, we can confidently say that they are going completely mainstream. These payment options provide ease, security, and efficiency, and are growing in popularity across the region. Our processing data shows that while Apple Pay currently holds a dominant position in the MENA digital wallets landscape, Google Pay and local alternatives like STC Pay are swiftly gaining ground. Despite Apple Pay’s lead, Google Pay’s growth trajectory is notable, though there remains a discernible gap between the two.
🔹 Buy Now, Pay Later: Another essential part of MENA’s digital commerce story
Buy Now, Pay Later products appear to have a minor role, with only 3% of consumers listing it as their preferred payment method. We can take a step back and see that it represents a cornerstone feature in the region’s digital growth story. Indeed local BNPL offerings such as Tamara and Tabby continue to significantly deepen their regional penetration. Seemingly from nowhere modern BNPL offerings launched onto the scene in 2020 and saw impressive immediate adoption. In the past 12 months that adoption rate only increased with more than 62% of the population surveyed reporting having used a BNPL option during 2023.
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Source Checkout.com
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