According to Adyen research, UAE retailers are enthusiastic about growth in 2022. More than three-quarters of retailers (84%) aim to increase by 20% or more in 2022, and with so many more intending to invest, that number could rise even higher.
Last year, 73 percent of UAE businesses in the retail, food and beverage, and hospitality sectors increased sales by 20% or more, outpacing the global average of 67 percent growth. It demonstrates how concentrating on digital transformation may help retailers expand and retain customers faster.
Sander Maertens, Head of Middle East for Adyen, said: “Despite challenges as a result of the global pandemic, our research shows that UAE retailers have performed remarkably well compared to their global counterparts. Digital transformation and streamlined operations via improvements in online, in-app and in-store payments channels, along with supply chain and inventory management improvements, resulted in enhanced business performance, which drove up sales by 54%. UAE retailers are confident for future growth, but to keep the momentum going, they will have to deliver cohesive cross-channel payments experiences to their customers.”
In the United Arab Emirates, Adyen hired Opinium LLP to poll 1000 consumers and Censuswide to survey 200 enterprises, as well as economic modeling by the Centre for Economic Business Research (Cebr).
According to Adyen study, technology will play a crucial role in assisting merchants in meeting and exceeding their growth goals. The proportion of UAE businesses expected to grow by 20% or more climbs to 84 percent when they integrate technology throughout their departments, combining operations with payments and customer experience. Furthermore, Cebr’s economic modeling revealed that accelerating digital transformation will boost the UAE’s retail sector’s growth rate by 4.7 percentage points over the following five years.
For retailers, the opportunity to improve operations and the customer experience through technology is substantial, and consumers have learned to demand it. Consumers in the UAE are more willing to shop with retailers who employ technology to improve the customer experience (83 percent). In fact, 61% of shoppers stated they would be more loyal to companies who allowed them to buy online and return in store.
The research, however, indicates that retailers are not entirely prepared to take advantage of this potential. Only 23% of UAE shops make it easy for clients to return things purchased online to their physical locations. In the UAE, customer expectations are greater, presenting a huge opportunity for firms that get it right.
Despite this, the UAE is at the forefront of innovation, with 66 percent of UAE firms investing in digitization to improve operations during the epidemic, which is 20 percent higher than the global average. Because 86 percent of UAE consumers anticipate firms to embrace technology to make their loyalty programs easier and more effective in the future, there is still opportunity for improvement.