Saudi Arabia poised to become the Gulf’s most competitive e-commerce market
The UAE has long been the Gulf’s most dynamic e-commerce market, a hub for industry players from Amazon to Uber. But Saudi Arabia’s digital economy is developing rapidly and could soon overshadow its smaller neighbor.
Al-Monitor Pro Members
Samuel Wendel
Senior Market Research Analyst, Al-Monitor
April 22, 2023
The UAE has long been the Gulf’s most dynamic e-commerce market, a regional hub for industry players from Amazon to Uber. However, Saudi Arabia’s digital economy is developing rapidly and the kingdom could soon overshadow its smaller neighbor as the region’s most competitive e-commerce market. But who will be the dominant player? The logical candidate is Riyadh-based Noon, famously launched with $1 billion in funding to take on Amazon — a move that remains a work in progress. In April 2023, Noon revealed it had cut about 10% of its workforce, which comes after seeing significant losses in recent years. It likely won’t get any easier going forward: competition is set to accelerate in Saudi Arabia, with an intriguing new player expected to enter the online retail market in 2023.
