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Study: 77% of Consumers in Saudi Arabia are Shopping More Online

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to spur e-commerce, a study has revealed the rapid growth of online shopping in Saudi Arabia
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to spur e-commerce, a study has revealed the rapid growth of online shopping in Saudi Arabia
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Study: 77% of Consumers in Saudi Arabia are Shopping More Online

As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to spur e-commerce, a study has revealed the rapid growth of online shopping in Saudi Arabia
As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to spur e-commerce, a study has revealed the rapid growth of online shopping in Saudi Arabia

A Mastercard study has revealed the rapid growth of online shopping in Saudi Arabia, with nearly three out of four Saudi consumers (around 77 percent) shopping more online than they did before the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the survey, groceries, healthcare, apparel and banking have seen the highest surge of online activity.

More than 68 percent of Saudi consumers said they had shopped online for groceries, 73 percent for clothing, and over 65 percent of respondents said they had purchased medicine online.

Consumers are moving other aspects of their financial management to digital, with 64 percent of respondents having started banking online, said the study.

The research also reveals the rising impact of social media on consumer spending habits, with 58 percent and 61 percent of respondents saying they had discovered new sellers through Facebook and Instagram respectively.

Mastercard has been working with businesses, financial institutions and other stakeholders to advance digital payments in the Kingdom, and the pandemic has reinforced the necessity to continue evolving the safe and secure consumer payment experience. From a simplified online checkout experience to an in-store tap on a contactless terminal, it is evident that being able to respond to the rapidly evolving consumer expectations is a critical priority.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoys one the highest internet penetration and mobile usage numbers in the region with an estimated growth to 96 percent by 2023. The Saudi government in turn continues to take several measures to simplify digital payments and enable affordable e-commerce,” said Country Manager, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain & Levant Mastercard. Jihad Khalil.

“With security remaining integral to the shift towards a cashless culture, Mastercard is working with local businesses to take advantage of these long-term trends, and build e-commerce experiences that offer speed, security and simplicity for a new generation of Saudi shoppers,” he added.

While adapting to the ‘next normal’, people have been changing the way they consume entertainment and learn new skills.

In fact, 79 percent of KSA consumers said they were using the downtime as a positive learning experience. More than half of the respondents (64 percent) said they had taken a virtual cooking class, 47 percent have been mastering a new language.

As people spend more time at home, the demand for online entertainment has also surged with 73 percent of respondents having invested in entertainment subscriptions and 62 percent in online gaming.

With the rapid rise in online shopping, consumers are also becoming increasingly aware of the associated risks. More than half of consumers (54 percent) surveyed said that a secure checkout was fundamental for a good shopping experience.

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Business

Gold Gains on Weaker Dollar, Easing Inflation Concerns

AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province
AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province
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Gold Gains on Weaker Dollar, Easing Inflation Concerns

AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province
AFP- A saleswoman adjusts gold jewelry for sale at a shop in Lianyungang_ in China's eastern Jiangsu province

Gold prices rose on Tuesday, supported by a weaker US dollar and easing energy costs after US President Donald Trump suggested that the war in the Middle East could end soon.

Respite from a potential war-driven surge in inflation would likely reduce the chances of central banks raising interest rates, a positive for non-yielding gold, Reuters said.

Spot gold rose 0.7% ‌to $5,174.49 per ounce, ‌as of 0631 GMT. US gold futures ‌for ⁠April delivery rose ⁠1.6% to $5,184.

The dollar fell 0.4%, making greenback-priced bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Gold prices rose "due to the news flow from US President Trump himself, stating that there is a potential for de-escalation ... So what we could see is that potential inflation expectation starts to tone down given this dramatic fall in ⁠oil price," said Kelvin Wong, a senior ‌market analyst at OANDA.

Oil prices ‌fell by more than 5% following Trump's comments.

But, the US president ‌also warned that US attacks could rise sharply if ‌Iran sought to block tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

The war has effectively shut the strait, stranding tankers for over a week and forcing ‌producers to halt output as storage fills up, sending energy prices soaring.

Gold prices fell by ⁠as much ⁠as 2% on Monday as higher energy costs fanned inflation concerns and further dimmed the prospects for a near-term cut in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve.

Investors expect the Fed to keep rates steady at the end of its two-day meeting on March 18, per CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Markets are now awaiting the US consumer price index for February, due on Wednesday, and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - on Friday.

Spot silver rose 2% to $88.73 per ounce. Spot platinum gained 0.7% at $2,196.35, while palladium lost 0.3% to $1,685.01.

Business

Milei Cheers Economic Benefits of Iran War for Argentina

President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
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Milei Cheers Economic Benefits of Iran War for Argentina

President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP
President Javier Milei of Argentina was in New York participating in an investment promotion event. Angela Weiss / AFP

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump and Israel, on Monday hailed the benefits of the Iran war for his country's exports and foreign currency reserves.

The libertarian Milei, who has backed Washington and Israel's strikes on Iran, said he expected an "improvement" in oil and agricultural exports as a result of the 10-day-old conflict, said AFP.

Oil soared past $100 a barrel for the first time in four years on Monday, as Iran fired a new barrage of missiles at its US-allied oil-rich Gulf neighbors and signalled that the Strait of Hormuz would likely remain shut.

Argentina is Latin America's fourth-largest oil producer.

"Argentina, in this context, will see an improvement in its terms of trade because oil prices are rising, and Argentina is a net exporter," Milei told Argentine radio station FM NOW.

"Furthermore, all the grains that Argentina exports, soybeans, corn, and sunflower, are also rising in price," Milei said in an interview from New York, where he was participating in an investment promotion event.

Last week, wheat reached its highest level in a year and soybeans hit their highest point since June 2014 as the war drove up energy and fertilizer costs.

Milei emphasized that the war would boost Argentina's efforts to build up its foreign currency reserves, as demanded by the International Monetary Fund in return for a new $20 billion loan agreement signed last year.

The oil and gas sector accounts for 13.5 percent of Argentina's exports, second behind the agricultural sector, which accounts for more than 60 percent of foreign sales.

Soybeans amount to 24.6 percent of total exports.

Business

China Starts Year with Booming Trade, Despite US Exports Drop

People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)
People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)
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China Starts Year with Booming Trade, Despite US Exports Drop

People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)
People visit a clothes shop in Beijing on March 9, 2026. (AFP)

China's trade surged by a fifth in the first two months of the year, official data showed Tuesday, significantly outpacing forecasts as a plunge in shipments to the United States was offset by sales to other major markets.

The boost is a lifeline for the world's second-largest economy as domestic consumer activity has slumped, and adds to the record surplus achieved last year.

Official figures for the first two months of the year -- usually combined to account for distortions arising from the varying Lunar New Year holiday -- showed a strong start to 2026, before war broke out in the Middle East.

Exports climbed 21.8 percent year-on-year, the General Administration of Customs said, beating the 7.2 percent predicted in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

"Exports are likely to remain robust given the recent decline in US tariffs and strong demand for semiconductors," said Zichun Huang of Capital Economics.

Many of China's key trading partners have increasingly called on Beijing to reduce its soaring trade surplus owing to its impact on local competition.

Globally, China saw significant increases in exports of products including automobiles, clothing and household appliances during the two-month period, the customs data showed.

The reading comes as Chinese leaders gather for a closely watched annual political meeting, which last week saw the government announce its lowest economic growth target in decades.

Among the challenges is a years-long slump in domestic spending, which has failed to recover since the end of the pandemic.

But in a sign of rebounding activity, the latest figures showed imports soared 19.8 percent in January-February, smashing the seven percent estimated in the Bloomberg survey.

- Oil imports surge -

The jump follows official data on Monday that revealed consumer prices rose last month at their fastest pace in three years.

Exports to the United States sank 11.0 percent, however, as President Donald Trump pressed ahead with his tariff campaign.

Beijing and Washington were locked in a blistering trade war last year -- which at one point saw reciprocal levies in the triple digits.

There are hopes that tensions could cool, with Trump set to travel to China at the end of the month.

Shipments to the United States totaled $67.24 billion in January-February, the figures showed, compared with $75.56 billion in the same period last year.

That was offset, though, by exports to the European Union surging 27.8 percent, while those to ASEAN climbed 29.2 percent.

However, "events in the Middle East will increase China's oil import bill but weigh on its import volumes", Huang said in a note.

Worries about the global economy have intensified this month after the US-Israel war on Iran sent oil prices soaring to their highest since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The conflict has seen the crucial Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global oil travels -- effectively shut off.

With tensions already rising last month, imports of oil by China -- the world's largest importer of the commodity -- jumped 16 percent in January-February combined, the customs data showed Tuesday.

The strong export growth will likely "reinforce" the argument of trading partners concerned about China's ballooning trade imbalance, wrote Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management.

Commerce minister Wang Wentao acknowledged that China's trade needed balancing when he spoke at a news event Friday on the sidelines of the "Two Sessions" political meeting in Beijing.

"Exports and imports are like the two wheels of a vehicle. If they are balanced, the vehicle runs smoothly and goes further," Wang said.

Pinpoint's Zhang added that strong exports and a lower official growth target "suggest that China is unlikely to launch stimulus any time soon".