The monthly e-commerce transactions in Bahrain are expected to hit BD400 million ($1.06 billion) during the second half of this year (H2).
This is a surge of 21.7% over the monthly average of BD313 million recorded in the first half of the year.
This projection was made by Homie’s Digital Transformation Expert and Chief Digital Officer, Sadiq Abdul Rasool.
Many factors
"This rise is due to many factors, including the Back-to-School season, Sale season, and the return of large numbers of citizens and residents from their vacations. In addition, the expansion of "Buy Now, Pay Later" services in the Kingdom of Bahrain is contributing to the recovery of both e-commerce and digital payments," according to Rasool.
In this regard, Rasool cited the Central Bank of Bahrain's recently released report, in which it tracked the conduct of over 12.3 million transactions—a rise of 10.9% annually and 13.6% monthly—and noted that the numbers in this report demonstrate the continuing growth of e-commerce.
When the period of social isolation brought on by the Corona pandemic ended, Rasool noted that e-commerce operations were experiencing weekly fluctuations due to the change in consumer habits and stated: "We have also noticed an increase in the number of people and families going directly to marketplaces and complexes to purchase the required products."
Growth of e-commerce
Rasool expressed his confidence in further increasing the growth of e-commerce in Bahrain because of adoption and application of modern supporting technologies, including the increasing prevalence of digital stores, the inclusion of chatbots within the e-store, and the use of AR technologies that give a comprehensive idea of the characteristics of the product.
“This development will further upgrade Bahrain's e-commerce platforms and enhance its local and regional competitiveness. There are great opportunities in this area, for example, Namshi website was sold to Noon, for $335 million. This confirms the investment feasibility of e-commerce,” Rasool concluded.-- TradeArabia News Service