The trend of online shopping is still at a nascent stage in the Middle East, and that’s why we think this is the perfect time to capture the market. According to estimates, the e-commerce profits of the Gulf region will hit $48.8Bn by the end of 2021. This means there is a lot of money to be made in Middle East countries by ecommerce stores that has the right products and features.

While aspiring ecommerce entrepreneurs of the Middle East know what sells in the local market, they aren’t aware of the online store features that are critical to maximizing sales and profits. This is why stores like Noon are cornering most of the profits in the Middle East.

In this blog, Techosquare will talk about 7 e-commerce store features that top-selling brands in the Middle East are hugely benefiting from. Whether you are building an online store from scratch or using an e-commerce store software, these features are crucial for sales and growth. Make sure they are part of your single-seller or multi-seller online store:

Mobile shopping is growing by leaps and bounds in the Middle Eastern B2B/B2C e-commerce market. With 28% of the Middle East population between the age group of 15 to 29 years, smartphone experience is critical for online sales. Ecommerce companies like Aido and Souq have taken advantage of this trend in the past 5 years.

To make your online store ready for M-commerce, it needs to be designed in a way that delivers a superb experience on smaller screens. Online store builders such as SwiftKart are helping Gulf-based entrepreneurs build a mobile-ready eCommerce website that delivers a smooth shopping experience.

The Middle East is a linguistically diverse region with more than 60 languages being spoken including Arabic, Greek, and Kurdish. This is precisely why multilingual capabilities are crucial for online stores catering to the Middle Eastern populace.

While it is difficult to enter in data in all the regional languages, at least two language options are critical for Gulf e-commerce stores. That said, make sure that your online store software or technology supports the integration of more languages in the future.

Want to make huge profits and sales? Implement
multivendor business model for your store.

A majority of online customers in the Middle East have used a coupon to claim a discount on specific products. Adding coupon codes and discounts to your Middle Eastern e-commerce website will help attract price-driven shoppers, improve traffic, and increase conversions. However, using discounts and coupon-based campaigns is rather tough without a modern offer management module.

Some online store builders pack a coupon module, making it easy for store owners to offer discounts and seasonal sales. If you are building an online store from scratch, make sure that your developer integrates this feature!

45% of online shoppers prefer shopping on e-commerce websites that offer personalized experience and recommendations. For those who don’t know, it means creating an overall store experience that’s very personalized and familiar with the shoppers.

A lot of Middle Eastern stores create unique shopping experiences for men, women, and children by segregating products fitting to their needs. In the same way, recommendations focused on browsing and shopping behavior help in boosting visitor experience.

A simple online store is perfect for businesses with their own range of products to sell. However, if you want to sell thousands of products (just like Amazon), then, you need multi-vendor capabilities in your e-commerce platform.

For those who don’t know, a multivendor marketplace is an e-commerce platform that empowers multiple sellers to sell products from one storefront. Think of multivendor platforms as shopping malls. A lot of businesses and brands are selling under one roof.

The biggest difference between the multi-vendor marketplace and regular online store is that prior has the technical capabilities to support multiple sellers but the latter doesn't. In short, if you need to host multiple sellers in your Gulf-based online store, you need to ensure multi-seller capabilities.

70 ecommerce store features to get ahead in the online shopping game.

To create a strong resonance in the Middle East e-commerce market, it is essential for your online store design to encapsulate Gulf design ethos. Middle East audiences have a really strong connection with their culture and hence capturing the same in your design can greatly help build engagement and sales. Score high on color palette, theme design, imagery, iconography, and other critical design aspects to build a strong resonance with Kurdish and Arab shoppers.

Learn how Techosquare integrated advanced ecommerce and database capabilities to this spiritual consulting venture

If we had to mention only one detail that creates uneasiness among Middle Eastern customers while shopping online, it has to be online payment security. This is major because online shopping is not a big part of the national shopping culture yet. Added security layers to your online store protect both customers and vendors from becoming an easy target for hacking and data theft.

Security critical factors like sturdy firewall, two-factor authentication, security certifications, and secure payment gateways are critical to making online shopping safe. While Gulf shoppers are cautious of digital security, this is something that you should bring to the table even if you are catering to any other geographical region.

The checkout process is probably most important for e-commerce websites throughout the world. Keeping it distraction-free in your Arab online store will make sales quicker, boost conversion rates, and bring down cart abandonment rates. Online stores that omit the navigation menu, social media icons, and other distracting elements during the checkout process are highly conversion-focused!

Also, make sure that your Checkout page gives shoppers multiple payment options to complete the purchase. This is crucial to capture young audiences.

When it comes to digital innovation, augmented reality is being hailed as a game-changer for the e-commerce industry. The AR hype went worldwide with Pokemon Go back in 2016. Four years down the line, this feature has gone beyond games to completely redefine the online shopping experience. Golden Scent, a Saudi Arabian online beauty platform is the first one to use augmented reality on its e-commerce site.

Also branded as a virtual try-on, using this feature allows shoppers to try on different products like makeup and spectacles without the physical need to visit a retail store. Your consumers from the Middle East can test products from the comfort of their own homes before purchasing them on your online store.

Augmented reality is very demanding as well as expensive in terms of development and deployment. So, we recommend waiting on this feature until you hit gold with your online store or this is a critical part of your business!

E-commerce in the Middle East has just taken flight and in the next 5 years, it will experience exponential growth. This is why building an online store makes a lot of sense for Gulf-based entrepreneurs. That said, only e-commerce stores that are feature-rich, scalable, and secure will make the biggest profits.

SwiftKart is the most powerful online store solution to come up in the market in the last 2 years. Whether you wish to launch a simple online store for your offline business or a mega digital marketplace that can compete with the likes of Noon, the powerful online store launcher can make it happen. Learn about the limited-period offer that will get your online store live at $499 USD only.

Got any queries regarding ecommerce website design and development? Send them at info@techosquare.com to get them answered by experienced web developers!