Telecom beats Financial services in eCom growth

Manama : The telecommunications sector is the most mature industry in terms of e-commerce growth and participation, according to a study by Ernst and Young(EY). Financial services sector was ranked second by the researchers.

Nine sectors were scored based on a survey on how advanced they are in e-commerce. Government services was placed third followed by Information Technology, Tourism, eWholesaler/eRetailer, Hospitality, Construction and Manufacturing.

The study also ranked the critical factors in success of e-commerce services of organisations and companies. Services / Product Portfolio was ranked as the most important factor. ‘Number of Users’ was placed second followed by ‘cost control’. 

Respondents to the survey also ranked the main challenges for e-commerce in Bahrian. Finding the required funds to start a business was pointed out the most challenging while Legal, regulatory and governmental requirements compliance and difficulty to find skilled workers were also mentioned among the other challenges.

Amazon.com came out as the most  popular example of e-commerce companies, websites, and platforms (local, regional or international) that respondents liked to simulate. Alibaba.com and Talabat.com followed Amazon.com in the list of favourites. 

EY Director, Financial Advisory Services, Suleiman Ajjawi said that it is the right time to invest in the e-commerce sector of Bahrain as the Kingdom looks to become an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hub in the region. 

“Bahrain is looking to be the ICT hub in the region and this really provides the infrastructure required for e-commerce to grow. The government is supporting the ICT growth and pushing it forward. Bahrain has one of the highest connectivity in the region, 96.4% of Bahrain’s population is connected.” 

“The Kingdom is considered to be amongst the world’s most vibrant and advanced markets for ICT services; it has a high mobile and broadband penetration and top-performing regulatory framework,” he said.

Suleiman Ajjawi explained that e-commerce is expected to boom world wide. 

“It is estimated that online retail sales could reach $4.3 trillion by 2025 accounting for 19%  of the overall retail sales,” he said.