1. The Saudi ICT Market and E‐Commerce Potential

2. Agenda The Saudi ICT Market Saudi Ecommerce and Potential
Saudi Vs UK in numbers
Facts on Saudi
Internet and mobile penetration
Smart Phone Penetration
ICT Market Size
Saudi Ecommerce and Potential
Saudis on Social networks
Saudi Retail Market Size
Ecommerce Market Size and Trends
Market Players
Challenges and opportunities

3. The Saudi ICT Market 

4. Saudi Arabia Vs UK in Numbers
Area
2.15 trillion m²
243.6 billion m²
Population
28.8 Million
64.1 Million
GDP
$748 Billion
$2.68 Trillion
Median Age
26 years old
40.3 years old
Internet users
63.7%
91.6%
Mobile Penetration
179.5 %
123.5 %

5. More on Saudi Arabia
Among the twenty most important industrial and emerging countries (G-20).
Main member of OPEC, having largest conventional oil reserves worldwide, (260 billion barrels) 18% of the world's petroleum reserves.
No Sales Tax, No Income Tax.
150 k students studying abroad on gov. scholarships.
One of the lowest countries globally in Debt and highest National Reserves and Forex Reseves.

6. Internet and Mobile Penetration in Saudi
from total subscribers in Saudi
48% are Mobile Data Subscribers
Source : ITU-D : ICT Data and Statistics (IDS) 2014

7. High Smart Phone Penetration (2013)
Source : Google’s Our Mobile Planet

8. ~$ 30 Billion ICT Spending annually
ICT Spending in Saudi Arabia by Technology, (Total = USD Billion)
ICT Investments in Saudi Arabia by Industry Vertical, 2014
(Total = USD 4.75 Billion)
Source: Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) ITC Report 2015

9. ~ $14 Billion IT Spending
Growth (CAGR)
Source:

10. The Saudi E‐Commerce & Potential

11. Saudis on Social Networks
Saudi has the highest penetration of Twitter in the world.
47% of the tweets in the Arab world are produced in or by Saudis, despite its small population

12. Saudis on Social Networks
As per Google : Saudi Arabia is "the biggest user of YouTube per capita in the world"
Speed of adaptation of Social network is Remarkable
Oversharing !
Local Social “Celebrities” !
Speed of Word of Mouth !
Powered by a Social culture

13. Saudi Retail Market Size
Saudi Retail Market is $120b*
11% annual growth ** (GCC growth 6% avg)
54% of GCC Retail Market **
“Solid Growth & Untapped Potential” **
Consumer Goods 32% of retail**
Sources: * Alpen Capital Report 2013, ** AT Kearny’s Global Retailers 2013

14. Ecommerce Market Size in Saudi
2011: $3b, 2.9% of Retail*
2016: $15b, 8% of Retail*
Sources: *BCG G20 Report 2012, ** RetailMeNot Online Retail Study 2014

15. B2C Ecommerce in Saudi 10 m Users growing to 17 m by 2020
2015 : $604 average revenue per user (ARPU)

16. Ecommerce Players in Saudi 1 ‪

17. Ecommerce Players in Saudi 2

18. Ecommerce Players in Saudi 3

19. Challenges & Opportunities : Payment
~ 80% of Ecommerce in Saudi is Cash on Delivery.
Debt cards can not be used online. Paypal not Popular.
Bank transfers is common.
Local payment providers e.g. “OneCard” cant do Ecommerce.
80% of Saudis have bank accounts.
Gov. Launched recently SADAD OLP, a Platform connecting all Saudi banks with Ecommerce Sites’ check out pages.

20. Challenges & Opportunities : Delivery
Big logistics companies are Expensive and slow. And do not offer Cash on Delevery.
Problems with Labor.
Non unified Addresses.
Growing percentage of Returns.
Demand concentrated in few big cities. Pickup is popular.
Social use freelancers, and New “Uber” like solutions emerging.

21. Challenges & Opportunities : Other
Legal and Taxation :
Not easy for non Saudis.
Tax on non Saudis.
Culture :
No research available on Taste, preferences or behaviors.
Need to experiment with taste & have a Local team.
Need to experiment with Marketing, especially Social.

22. Opportunities Delivery and pickup innovation Managing Returns
Partnerships with Local Players
Start online and go offline
Platforms
Social and mobile commerce and comparison engines
Big investments

23. Saudi Ecommerce Opportunities
Ecommerce in Saudi is still a Blue Ocean with lots of opportunities

24. Thank You Rashid AlBallaa rb@N2V.com @Rballaa
Hashim AlAwadi