Arab Advisors: Strong growth in e-commerce adoption in the region which underlines positive impact of broadband boom in the Arab World
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New Arab Advisors surveys reveal strong growth in e-commerce adoption in the region which underlines the positive impact of the broadband boom in the Arab World. This growth and its dynamics will be one of the topics of the 9th Convergence Summit which has Saudi Telecom (STC) as the main sponsor.
Motorola, Orange, Qualcomm, Umniah, Zain and Ericsson are also sponsoring the Summit. Over 40 industry leaders and over 500 delegates will discuss and deliberate the dynamics of convergence the Arab World’s TMT markets.
A new major survey of the Internet users in Jordan was concluded by the Arab Advisors Group in February 2012. The survey revealed that, in 2011, 24.4% of Internet users in Jordan used e-commerce to buy products or services or pay their bills online, up from 15.4% in 2010.
The Arab Advisors Group conservatively estimates the number of e-commerce users in 2011 to be around 514,000 which is around 8.2% of the total population in Jordan. These e-commerce users have spent an estimated $370m on buying products and services and paying bills through e-commerce transactions in 2011, a major rise from the $192m spent in 2010.
“While the Arab countries are at varying degrees of development when it comes to broadband and e-commerce adoption, a majority of the Arab markets are showing excellent growth. This bodes well for regional and global e-commerce players targeting the Arab World. The solid rise in e-commerce use and expenditure in Jordan between 2010 and 2011 is but one example of this regional boom,” Jawad J. Abbassi, Arab Advisors Founder and General Manager, commented. “We are pleased to be organizing the 9th Convergence Summit in Amman in May 2012 and look forward to sharing more of Arab Advisors research findings at the summit.”
The survey report, “Jordan Internet users and e-commerce survey 2012″ was released in March 2012 and provides the results of a major comprehensive online survey of Internet users in Jordan. The report covered several areas including: Online and video gaming, Internet usage through cellular handset, e-commerce, online banking (e-banking) and e-government. The report has 84 pages and 102 exhibits.
Respondents were randomly targeted by receiving an email shot in their inbox utilizing multiple reputable mailing-list operators in Jordan. The survey results encompass answers from 900 respondents that passed rigorous quality control checks. Quality control was conducted by Arab Advisors Group’s team and included checking email addresses for authenticity and built-in question redundancy to filter out non-serious respondents. The survey was conducted on the general Internet population, including both genders and all age groups across Jordan. The online survey yields a confidence level of 99% with a margin of error of less than 5%.
“The survey revealed that 12.6% of households with fixed broadband connection share their connection with their neighbors. Due to the practice of fixed broadband account sharing by households, the Arab Advisors Group estimates the number of households with broadband connections in Jordan to be around 292,000 households by the end of September 2011. This yields an effective fixed broadband accounts penetration rate of 4.70% and an effective broadband household penetration rate of 25.60%,” Ms. Noura Abdulhadi, Arab Advisors Project Manager, commented.
The Arab Advisors Group survey questionnaire provides a focus on the following areas:
Cellular services
• Cellular subscriptions
• Smartphones adoption
• Internet usage through cellular handset
Internet usage
• Desktops and laptops at home
• Location and expenditure of Internet access
• Internet access at home
• An analysis of Jordan’s fixed broadband penetration and effective fixed broadband penetration
• Internet usage trends
• Listening to radio and watching TV online
• Phone calls through the Internet
• Social interaction patterns on the Internet
E-commerce
• E-commerce trends
• Jordan’s e-commerce expenditure calculations
• Perception of local and international e-commerce
Online banking (e-banking) services
E-government services
Games
• Online games
• Specialized gaming devices.
