Dubai: A new generation of digital startups and entrepreneurs are trying to break into the UAE’s ecommerce marketplace – and stop it from being a two-horse race.
It won’t be easy - despite recording bumper growth in 2020 as more shoppers picked up their needs and luxuries online, it’s not a category where profits come easily. For every gains made by noon or Amazon, there have been casualties such as Awok.com. Then, there is the competition that the ecommerce ventures of UAE’s traditional retail heavyweights – Majid Al Futtaim, Apparel Group, LuLu and Landmark – come up with.
But even then, recent weeks show that some are willing to give it a try. “Becoming a profitable online marketplace is tough,” said Nicolas Bruylants, co-founder of CNNB.