07/07/2021
Monsha’at: The Corona pandemic constituted large sales of electronic commerce with more than 22 billion Saudis
Saud bin Hussein, the first e-commerce specialist at the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, revealed several stimuli that support development trends in the e-commerce environment in the Kingdom, including the development of regulations and legislation, improving infrastructure and support services, and the development and growth of small economies.
Bin Hussein said during a workshop organized by the Asharqia Chamber represented by the Small and Medium Enterprises Center entitled: E-commerce support services and ways to benefit from them, Wednesday, July 7, 2021, that the e-commerce sector is characterized by its stimulating methods that lead to understanding the local consumer and continuing to work on the development of electronic payments, given that Electronic commerce explains the mechanism for the exchange of goods and services between independent organizations and people supported by the comprehensive use of robust ICT systems and globally standard network infrastructure.
Bin Hussein explained that the development of the sector aims to support and stimulate e-commerce activities, enhance the ease of doing business in it, raise the contribution of e-commerce to the national economy, enhance the sector’s reliability, and support the sustainability of development and growth in it, pointing to indicators of compatibility with the Kingdom’s vision 2030 in terms of enhancing diversity. It also aims to raise the proportion of electronic commerce from the total retail trade by creating an environment that attracts investment and job opportunities in new fields, supporting the growth of small and medium enterprises and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, which will achieve an increase of about 47,000 in the number of establishments, and an increase of about 237,000 indirect jobs created. 4 percent to 15 percent, and raising the proportion of local content from the total e-commerce from 4 percent to 30 percent, in addition to increasing the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises benefiting from electronic services from 5 percent to 12 percent.
Bin Hussein pointed out that the Corona pandemic constituted a major boost to electronic commerce, as sales witnessed a 22 percent increase (from 18.38 to 22.88 billion Saudis), and the number of users increased by 6 percent (from 19.8 million to 21 million users), and the market witnessed E-commerce increased by 46 percent (from 28.13 to 41.25 billion riyals in Saudi Arabia and the UAE before and after the ban).
