It’s time to drop the ‘e’ from e-commerce

It’s time to drop the ‘e’ from e-commerce

The Gulf Cooperation Council economies are bouncing back, stronger than ever. According to the World Bank estimate, regionwide gross domestic product (GDP) for 2022 will grow by 5.9 per cent on the previous year. The report suggests that robust “fiscal and external surpluses” could enhance consumer confidence. In the UAE, for example, Fitch Solutions forecasts a 4.2 per cent surge in real household spending in 2022, helped along by a swift Covid-19 response. B2C commerce has a very different playbook today – one which must accommodate for the unforeseen, navigate economic pressures and counter the threat of the emergence and rise of agile competitors. When e-commerce emerged, it was treated as a ‘nice to have’ service and definitely a cost-saver, but not a core part of the business. Flash forward to 2020, the dynamics of e-commerce changed. Regional stakeholders are currently confronted with a new reality: there is no standalone e-commerce anymore. The experience economy has ripped the ‘e’ from e-commerce. There is now only commerce – the unified ecosystem of physical and digital customer experiences. In such a scenario, here are three main pillars to ensure you get the right reaction from your target audience. An Oracle study found