By Deena Kamel Yousef, Staff Reporte www.gulfnews.com
Dubai: A survey of 50 international leading retailers shows they expect their online sales to double by 2014 to reach 10 percent, according to a new study by CBRE.
The majority of retailers, 77 per cent, said they aim to enhance their sales channels by offering mobile apps or smart phone enabled websites over the next two years, according to a report titled “The role of real estate in the multichannel world” released by property services firm CBRE yesterday.
The survey aimed to identify retailers’ current strategies for multichannel retailing — sales over various channels including in-store, online and mobile apps — and how that could develop by 2014. The study was commissioned in June and surveys 50 top retailers with a combined network of over 32,000 stores globally. Online retailing is set to play a significantly greater role than at present in emerging markets, including the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific, according to a report titled “The role of real estate in the multichannel world” released by property services firm CBRE yesterday.
However, online retailing is still in its early stages in the Middle East where consumers are still wrapped around an “established mall culture” that has become a central point for young people to socialise, said Mat Green, head of research and consultancy at CBRE Middle East. More info
