Online shopping in Oman is still done in a very unorganised way and hence not reliable as it may be buying through an Amazon portal abroad,” said Rajendran P, who does heavy online shopping, but mostly in India and the US
With the advent of faster broadband and payments through cards and Internet banking getting safer and reliable, online shopping has come to stay and seems to be growing in stature
Vinod Nair -
MUSCAT -
Online shopping has come a long way over the years since the beginning of the dot.com boom in the late nineties.
Initially it started with teleshopping where products were presented on the TV with contact numbers of the dealers. Contact numbers were flashed on TV screens for potential customers to enquire and make requests, following which products were delivered within a few days on time. Payments were made by cash at the time of delivery.
With the advent of faster broadband and payments through cards and Internet banking getting safer and reliable, online shopping has come to stay and seems to be growing in stature, especially in countries like the US, India, China, UAE in the Middle East.
Oman has still a long way to go and it widely to do because as the country is yet to emerge as a strong e-commerce hub. Most of the online products for the Omani market are shipped from across the border in UAE, which takes away the key advantages due to transportation costs and delays.
“Online shopping in Oman is still done in a very unorganised way and hence not reliable as it may be buying through an Amazon portal in the US and in India,” said Rajendran P, who does heavy online shopping, but mostly in India and the US.
According to emarketservices.com, China tops the list of online shoppers with 75 per cent of Internet users opting to buy goods from the click of a mouse, to be followed by Germany (72 per cent), South Korea (72 per cent), India (71 per cent), Brazil and the United Kingdom with (67 per cent each).
It adds that while the global e-commerce count shows online shopping is growing rapidly in some countries, the average still barely reaches 50 per cent.
In countries like the Philippines, UAE and Saudi Arabia, the average payment for digital content is high and so is the structural problems in services.
A survey by PWC.com points out that the price advantage, especially of gadgets, is key to the success of online shopping.
“Prices are generally compared with traditional stores for any product before it is purchased online. Personal interactions directly with the dealer still holds the key for after-sale services matters,” said Martin Thomas, a resident of the UK.
“This is a still small market but there is a big potential for e-shopping in the SME sector, which will see a big change in the coming years,” said a young Omani entrepreneur who didn’t want to be named as he is working on a project, which may take off this year depending on some finance and other clearances.
“Lots of shopping is done through Facebook and social media platforms in Oman these days, but they are just like advertising through classified sections of the newspapers. You cannot call them online shopping,” he said.
Advantages
Save Time,
Save Fuel,
Save Energy,
Prices comparisons,
Anytime, anywhere,
Can avoid saying No
to a salesman
Can analyse reviews online
Surprise gifts
No cash payments
Risks
Cybercrimes
Payments first, products later
Exchange and after-sales
Reviews can be manipulated
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