This article is a transcript of a presentation that I made to the Arab Ecommerce Summit in Dubai this week. It is a wake up call to merchants who are still making excuses for not selling online.
STRENGTHS
Let’s stop putting down the entrepreneurial spirit in this part of the world. Let’s stop looking to California or London for inspiration or best practice, let’ embrace the reasons why the Middle East can be an Ecommerce powerhouse.
COMMERCE
Ecommerce is a term that has outlived its usefulness.
Have you ever heard a customer say – I am going offline shopping? Have you ever heard a customer say – I’m taking part in the omnichannel customer journey?
The Middle East has a culture of trade. This is what we should be focussing on. The channel is not important.
Think back to Kodak film again and ask yourself the question. What do you do? Do you run a store or do you help customers buy products and services that satisfy their needs?
Do you really expect your customers to travel to you, park, find your store, hope you have the stock, argue about pricing…
Or is there a better way?
One of the reasons that malls in this region might not go the way of the malls in the USA is innovation around the experience. How do we merge malls and online together? Does a geo-fenced flash sale, with gamification and exclusivity help a shop to compete?
LEAPFROGGING
If you start now you are at an advantage.
You can adopt a truly mobile first strategy with a platform that was built for mobile.
You can implement a solution for a fraction of the cost of older platforms.
You can leverage data to make better decisions, to segment customers, to choose your range and determine optimal pricing.
ATTITUDE
You are sitting in Dubai, home of the tallest building in the world, home of the biggest airport in the world, home to Jet Man – a guy who says, I want to fly with a jetpack next to an A380.
None of these things exist because people made excuses.
It’s infectious and you had better believe that there is a generation here that is inspired to be better. To be the best in the world.
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