The demand for online shopping and quick grocery delivery services have been increasing exponentially in the country since the Covid pandemic
One Dubai resident placed a single grocery order worth more than Dh6,800 in 2024 on a popular grocery delivery app. The order on Careem Groceries consisted of a bulk order of 475 home and pantry items and took several delivery boys to fulfil.
According to figures released by the app, one frequent shopper placed 988 orders in 2024, spending more than Dh42,000 on groceries on the app. Another placed 16 separate orders in a single day in August last year. The most popular delivery time in the UAE was 7pm.
The demand for online shopping and quick grocery delivery services have been increasing exponentially in the country since the Covid pandemic. Last year, a UAE study found that consumers in the UAE are increasingly turning to online shopping, with a 140 per cent rise in monthly e-commerce shoppers since 2020.
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Last year, Careem food also saw one resident set a single-day record by placing 83 orders worth over Dh1,000.
Last year, data from Syrve Mena, a restaurant software provider, and Admitad, a leading partnership marketing platform, revealed a 10 per cent year-over-year increase in delivery orders during the first quarter of 2024.
UAE restaurants received millions of delivery orders with a median of 228,740 orders per year and Dh32 million sales per restaurant, according to the data. The number of delivery orders reached more than 600,000 per year with Dh126 million sales amount for fast-food chains specialising in delivery.
The in-app dining discovery and discounts feature recorded a large transaction at Kempinski The Palm valued at over Dh25,000. The customer saved over more than Dh7,000 in a single visit.
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Nasreen Abdulla is a Special Correspondent covering food, tech and human interest stories. When not challenged by deadlines, you’ll find her pulling off submissions on the jiu jitsu mats.