Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) estimated the volume of e-commerce transactions between consumers and companies at 30 billion riyals ($8 billion), which reflects an increase in the Kingdom's e-commerce, which is now one of the largest e-commerce markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the e-commerce market report issued by CITC, the average online spending of the Saudi shopper in 2016 was 4 thousand riyals (1.06 thousand dollars). The report pointed out that 42% online shoppers last year purchased through social networking sites and applications.
The reported stated that services accounted for two-thirds of total e-commerce spending in the Kingdom, with those related to travel taking the largest share of the service categories.
Saudi e-commerce market is undergoing a major growth boom, the report added, noting that the development of the Saudi e-commerce sector is linked to the implementation of a number of initiatives and strategies that will contribute to the diversification of the economy, supporting GDP, creating jobs, attracting investments, supporting entrepreneurship and innovation, and strengthening local industry.
The report emphasized that attaining the maximum benefits of the emerging e-commerce system in Saudi Arabia is also linked to supporting consumers' awareness and their trust in e-commerce, logistics and payment systems and telecommunications infrastructure.
CITC recently announced the number of mobile subscriptions in the country has reached 43.6 million, according to the latest statistics.
It also reported that the number of internet users in Saudi Arabia reached 24 million users.
