Online shoppers in the UAE demand faster, free delivery options: Astound Commerce

Free and faster delivery options are key considerations to drive online conversions among UAE shoppers, indicates a research undertaken by global digital commerce agency Astound Commerce.

Astound Commerce Middle East’s research, involving 500 UAE consumers, revealed that 84% of UAE customers will only make an online purchase if free shipping is available. A further 60% said they would be tempted to make an online purchase if they were offered a free delivery discount code.

“With consumers demanding faster fulfilment processes, retailers need to manage customer expectations about speed of delivery. By letting a customer choose from a wider range of the best available delivery options, at different pricing bandings, the consumer becomes in control of crafting and defining what perfect delivery looks like to them on that buying occasion,” said Khalid Khan, managing director, Astound Commerce Middle East.

With 68% of UAE shoppers planning to spend more on Amazon in 2019 compared to last year, more than half (57%) say that access to free delivery via its Prime subscription service is a key factor in their decision to buy from the online giant.

With the increasing adoption of online shopping in the Middle East – which now sees over a third (35%) of UAE shoppers making online purchases once a week and 31% buying over half of all their purchases online – shoppers’ demands around the choice of delivery methods are also becoming heightened.

Consumers are becoming more comfortable with progressive fulfilment options. Eighty-one percent would be happy to receive their online order via Uber or Lyft, while 74% would be comfortable with deliveries made by autonomous or driverless vehicles and a further 70% would like their e-commerce orders fulfilled by drone delivery.

However, when it came to improving online delivery experiences, speed of fulfilment proved to be the area where shoppers felt there was still work to be done, with 85% saying retailers could do more to ensure the timely arrival of e-commerce orders.