E-Commerce In the Arab World Is Booming: Here's How You Can Cash In On That Work in the globe's fastest growing affiliate marketplace and maximize your income potential

With a worldwide digital advertising spend of $333 billion, and 70% of e-commerce brands planning to spend more in 2021, affiliate marketers should be aligning their strategies with the fastest growing markets globally in order to maximize their income potentials in the coming year.

Currently, the Arab e-commerce sector is performing high with 8% conversion rates and average online order values of $332, the highest in the world.

Right now, the Arab ecommerce market is one of the fastest-growing and most exciting in the world. Likewise, it's one of the least competitive for affiliate marketers- with very few significant affiliate competitors in the digital marketing space.

This market is a blue ocean of new opportunities for affiliates- enter the Arab affiliate marketplace and earn more!

Where exactly is the Arab world?

The Arab world usually refers to the GCC/MENA region.

GCC is the Gulf Cooperation Council -a political and economic alliance of Middle Eastern countries- MENA refers to Middle East and North African markets.

Why is e-commerce in the Arab world so strong?

And why do we expect Arab e-commerce performance to continue to grow rapidly? Here are a couple of reasons:

1. Rapid regional scale-up Due to a rapid evolution in consumer mindset and spending habits, the Arab e-commerce sector is in the middle of an exponential growth arc. With five years of 100% year-over-year growth, and annual revenues of $24 billion slated for 2020, Forbes Middle East expects annual online sales in the Arab World to continue to increase 2.5 times to $60 billion by 2025.

2. Diversity of merchants The Arab world has access to a wide array of regional and international consumer goods -and consumer spending habits reflect this mix- with 42% of spending focused on local and regional merchants and 41% of spending focused on international brands.

Many of the leading local brands offer affiliates attractive discount codes that dramatically increase conversion rates. Since this market also enjoys the globe's highest average order value- the potential for savvy affiliates to earn here is huge.

In the past fiev years, local e-commerce trend-setters Souq, Noon, and Jumia have led a host of leading regional merchants in every category to provide a rich selection of regional goods and services they can order online and receive quickly.

Additionally, in 2018, global e-commerce giants Amazon and eBay both acquired significant stakes in the Arab e-commerce game, and continue to operate a significant presence in the region today.

3. An e-commerce boost induced by COVID-19 The recent coronavirus epidemic and resulting lockdowns has caused a global rise in online shopping habits, and the Arab world is no exception. With two months of movement restrictions across the region, many people who have never before shopped online have been forced to start, and those who were already regular online spenders have only increased their ecommerce purchasing.

Furthermore, the global crises helped with the Arab e-commerce market's biggest challenge. Pre COVID-19, 62% of online shoppers paid cash upon order delivery, but within two months, between March and May 2020, those numbers have moved to nearly 0%, as most merchants moved to contactless delivery and began requiring shoppers to use global standard methods like credit card and PayPal to pay online in advance.

In addition, the global pandemic caused another unexpected benefit- worldwide digital marketing spend for 2020 was already the highest it's ever been, but the COVID-19 crisis has significantly accelerated the allocation of advertising budgets to the online sector- and advertiser digital marketing spend in the Arab world has also gone up as a result.

4. The Arab consumer profile Online consumers in the Arab world enjoy a high level of disposable income- which is currently fueling the growth of the modern consumer lifestyle in the region.

Also noteworthy is the entry of digitally savvy Generation Z purchasers into the consumer arena.
These technocratic young people represent a full 25% of the Arab world, most will be entering the workforce en masse and thus into the ecommerce marketplace as consumers within the next 5 years.

Most Arabs are highly educated and extremely tech savvy- so electronics (smartphones, TVs, audio, game systems, laptops, tablets, cameras, smart home accessories) constitute the largest category of online purchase in the Arab world.

Another great opportunity to connect with Arab shoppers is on social media, as 84% visit social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram on a daily basis.

Big opportunities for experienced affiliate marketers

For the reasons outlined above, the Arab world currently presents a big opportunity for advanced affiliate marketers. Not only is the Arab world one of the globe's strongest e-commerce growth markets, but the affiliate marketplace is currently very new and inexperienced, with a long road ahead of it to keep up with the growth of online purchasing in the region.

As mentioned earlier, strict regional restrictions during the coronavirus epidemic have done a great deal to convert Arab consumers who were not yet shopping online into online shoppers- and upgrade those who knew how to shop online into daily online shoppers. Now is the perfect time for expert affiliates to come into this market in order to direct the purchase intent of these new and upgraded shoppers.

Affiliate networks in the Arab world

Expert affiliates planning to enter the Arab marketplace in order to expand their market reach and take advantage of strong growth opportunities in the region must consider carefully which affiliate network to work with.

International networks seldom have relevant local and regional advertiser offers from the ecommerce sites Arab consumers know and trust- and their international offers are often targeted towards markets outside the Arab world. There are a few local affiliate networks, but only one has the necessary expertise and infrastructure to offer a professional service to its advertiser and affiliate clientele.

ArabClicks was started as a collaboration between international affiliates with over 20 years of industry success, and local Arab e-commerce owners. Today, it is the leading affiliate network in the region, offering the fastest payments and highest payouts in the industry.

ArabClicks is also the only network that offers its international affiliates the tools and local strategy insights needed to be successful in the Arab market, including dates, times, and purchase trend predictions for each regional holiday- as well as Arabic-language advertiser creative for major promotional campaigns.

As mentioned above, a key trend in the Arab market is coupons, and Arabclicks offers their affiliates exclusive coupons and discounts for the biggest local and global advertisers.

In conclusion, e-commerce in the Arab World is booming, and all economic indicators signal that this rapid growth will continue- reaching $60 billion annually within the next few years. And yet the affiliate market in this region is underdeveloped and presents a significant opportunity for experienced affiliate marketers to cash in by taking advantage of the rapid scale-up.

Partner with ArabClicks- the leading affiliate network in the Arab World and enjoy fast payouts, high commissions, local market strategy insights, and exclusive coupons for the region's leading retailers!

The growth potential of affiliate marketing in the Arab World region is real, relevant, and urgent. Seize the opportunity, and make more money!