São Paulo – Saudi internet users spent US$ 4.3 billion on e-commerce last year, according to survey conducted by the Arab Advisors Group, a communication, media and technology survey company based in Jordan.
According to the report, 32% of the adult users in the country purchase products and pay for services via the internet. The Arab Advisors Group estimates that this percentage corresponds to 3.7 million people, or 12% of the Saudi population.
The survey was conducted from September 2013 to January 2014 with 749 respondents. Web use on mobile and fixed devices and services such as online games, e-commerce, bank and e-government services was mapped. The error margin is of less than 5%, according to the company.
“The survey revealed high adoption levels of mobile Internet; with 89.1% of Internet users reporting accessing the Internet through their mobile operators’ networks,” Ms. Hind Qweider, Arab Advisors Group Senior Research Analyst, noted.
“The survey also revealed high levels of adoption of video and audio streaming over the Internet, with 87.9% of Internet users reporting that they use these services”, added Qweider.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça
