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Mena e-commerce sees 44% surge in orders in 2024

November’s peak coincided with the Black Friday sales

The Mena e-commerce market, forecasted to reach a market volume of $50 billion in 2025, showed a 44 per cent growth during the November holiday season of 2024, driven by festive gifting and mobile shopping trends, data showed.

Figures from Flowwow, a UAE-based gifting marketplace, and Admitad, a partnership marketing platform, showed that gifting marketplaces saw a surge during the year-end festivities.

Peak Seasons

November’s peak coincided with the Black Friday sales and preparations for the key celebrations of the festive season. January and March also saw significant growth, with Ramadan and International Women’s Day driving online sales by 11 per cent and 14 per cent respectively, which only highlights the impact of cultural and festive events on consumer behaviour.

The festive season also drives growth in Mena e-commerce platforms and gifting marketplaces, boosted by special promotions, convenience, and increased interest for mobile shopping. In total, the number of all e-commerce orders in Mena grew by 5 per cent in 2024, with a 10 per cent increase in gross merchandise value (GMV). Average order value (AOV) also rose significantly, climbing from $30 in 2023 to $36 in 2024, reflecting heightened consumer spending on online shopping to prefer quality items.

Slava Bogdan, CEO at Flowwow, commented: “The festive season is one of the peak shopping periods for Flowwow gifting marketplace. It’s a time when our customers focus on celebrating and sharing joy through thoughtful gifts for their loved ones. Starting with White Friday in November and continuing through the Christmas and New Year festivities, this period represents a critical shopping time in the GCC region, especially with the growing expat population. At Flowwow, we believe in the power of meaningful gifting. By connecting our customers with local shops across the UAE, we ensure their gifts are as unique as their feelings.”

Flowwow reported a 62 per cent increase in purchases, an 86 per cent growth in sales turnover, and a 15.76 per cent rise in the average order value in November–mid-December 2024 compared to the previous year.

Mobile commerce played a significant role, accounting for 44.6 per cent of all orders in the region in 2024. Saudi Arabia took the lead with 62 per cent of orders placed via mobile devices, followed by the UAE at 60 per cent, Bahrain at 59 per cent, Oman at 58 per cent, Kuwait at 57 per cent, and Qatar at 54 per cent. These figures underscore the increasing importance of mobile-friendly platforms and technologies in driving e-commerce growth. The broader e-commerce market in the Mena region is projected to reach $50 billion by 2028, with mobile commerce in the UAE and Saudi Arabia expected to quadruple.

Anna Gidirim, CEO at Admitad, remarked: “This year’s surge in e-commerce activity demonstrates the evolving shopping habits in the Mena region, where mobile-first experiences and marketplace-driven sales have become the backbone of consumer behaviour. Our data highlights how businesses can leverage these trends to optimise their strategies and grow significantly during peak seasons.”

Marketplaces reigned supreme in the Mena e-commerce sector, contributing to 67 per cent of total sales in 2024. This trend reflects the growing consumer preference for the convenience and variety offered by these platforms. Analysing over 5.6 million orders in the Mena region in 2023 and 2024, Admitad found the most popular product categories, including electronics (21.4 per cent of sales), followed by fashion (19 per cent), and home and garden at 18.5 per cent. Other categories such as beauty and health (six per cent), toys and hobbies (5.8 per cent), and sports and entertainment (4.2 per cent) also demonstrated steady demand. Moreover, high-value items such as furniture and homeware, electronics, and jewellery had the highest average order values (AOV) at $255, $228, and $225, respectively.

Following the trend, Flowwow as a niche gifting marketplace, experienced an 86 per cent increase in online sales in November–mid-December 2024, compared to the festive season 2023. Flowers were the most popular category, with an average order value of Dh272.96; pastries follow, with an average order value of Dh135.74; then go edible bouquets, bento cakes, and gourmet gift sets with an average order value of Dh161.48.

Country specifics

The top five countries with the highest average order value (AOV) in 2024 were Kuwait at $127, the UAE at $102, Egypt at $74, Saudi Arabia at $52, and Qatar at $50. Pakistan took the lead in the sales growth with a 28 per cent increase in 2024, followed by Kuwait at 17 per cent and Saudi Arabia at 8 per cent. The highest GMV growth was observed in Kuwait at 25 per cent, followed by Pakistan at 22 per cent, Saudi Arabia at 21 per cent, Egypt at 15 per cent, Bahrain at 13 per cent, and Morocco at 11 per cent.

The research highlights the dominance of online shopping, e-commerce platforms, and gifting marketplaces in the Mena region during the festive season, driven by customers’ demand for thoughtful gifts and discounted offers. The peak shopping months align with major celebrations, revealing the influence of cultural and festive events on consumer behaviour.

Mobile commerce, a continuous trend in Mena countries — particularly in the UAE, where the e-commerce market is expected to reach nearly $$50 billion by 2028 — demonstrates the growing demand for convenient online shopping and gifting. In such a competitive atmosphere, innovative platforms and niche marketplaces that offer tailored and cutting-edge solutions will emerge as the market leaders.