Oman ecommerce market growing robustly: Report

Key trend: Major vendors in this market are innovating their services to cater to this untapped market

BUSINESS REPORTER

The e-Commerce market in Oman is rapidly increasing due to the increasing consumption rate and higher sales of smartphones in this region, according to an updated report by Japan-based Shibuya Data Count, a specialist in market research.

However, the implementation of 4G and 5G technology for connectivity purpose is increasing the exposure of online shopping for customers. Therefore technological awareness among customers is expected to have a significant impact on market growth, the newly published report noted.

“The different initiatives of the Oman government, such as OEC 2020, are fuelling the growth of this market. The main objective of this initiative is to unravel the future change of Governance, Transportation, Logistics and Commerce, which can infuse the digital transformation into the economy. Moreover, the growing GDP of this country will drive the primary growth of this market,” the report stated.

Citing figures published by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, it pointed out that the percentage of Internet users has increased by 4 per cent from 2019.

The growing Internet consumption rate is fuelling the growth of this market, the report pointed out. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), Oman’s Internet subscribers have surged to 473,487 subscribers in 2019, which is increased by 11.4 per cent from its previous year 2018. Moreover, the number of active mobile broadband subscribers rose to 4.739 million subscribers compared to 4.113 million subscribers in 2018.

Furthermore, the growing adoption of 4G and 5G technology is also driving the growth of this market, it said. For instance, Omantel plans to set up 2,226 5G sites by 2024, which will increase the Internet consumption rate for this country. However, spending on telecoms services and devices is decreasing due to job losses from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Major vendors in this market, the report says, are also innovating their services to cater to this untapped market. For instance, in 2019, Talabat had been selected as the food delivery platform of Expo 2020. Here the company launched a tech-driven cloud kitchen that consists of an assortment of restaurants serving freshly prepared food.

“The overall economic growth of this country is expected to drive the e-Commerce market. Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation are infusing, increasing the consumer spending power for this country. According to the World Bank data, the consumer spending for this country has increased by 0.02 per cent from the previous year 2018,” it stated.

The report also listed various government initiatives and regulations to support the growth of this market. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion is continuously influencing people to adopt e-commerce for shopping, import, and other activities. For instance, last year the ministry launched ‘Shop from Your Home’ initiative to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 virus for this country. Moreover, the government is also encouraging home business owners and small and medium enterprises to promote their products and use modern methods and technologies to market different products internationally, it said.

Significantly, some new players are also entering this market to cater to the market opportunities from this region. For instance, in 2020, Omarto.com was launched to tap the burgeoning e-commerce market in Oman. This addition will decrease the switching cost of Oman’s customers and also increases the bargaining power of the consumers.

The competitive rivalry in Oman’s e-commerce market is moderate due to the presence of some critical vendors such as eBay Inc, AliExpress, Namshi General Trading LLC, Talabat, Jazp, and so on. Moreover, the major vendors in this market are moving towards adopting innovative strategies that have enabled them to gain a competitive advantage over other players in the market.