AWOK.COM SEES TRIPLE FIGURE SALES INCREASE SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2013

AWOK.COM SEES TRIPLE FIGURE SALES INCREASE SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2013

By 2020 experts predict that e-commerce sales in the GCC are expected to touch $41.5 billion, one of the highest growths across the industry worldwide1. Internet spending in the Middle East is on the rise and GCC countries are expected to experience a 40% growth in e-commerce by 2020 according to industry research analysts Frost & Sullivan. In the two years since the company was first created, AWOK.com has grown substantially, initially dealing in electronics and gadgets and now selling a wide-ranging versatile product selection of household appliances, jewellery, consumer electronics and HEALTH AND BEAUTYproducts with new products added to the website on a daily basis. The site was first established in April 2013 with the intention of bringing reliable, quality products sold at the most competitive prices to consumers in the UAE.

AWOK.com, the UAE-based online shopping platform hits the two-year mark in April 2015, boasting a phenomenal 500% increase in sales compared to its first year of TRADING. The online platform also announced it will be launching a mobile app for consumers to be released later on this year. Since its launch, the website has witnessed strong year-on-year growth as well as increasing its portfolio of consumer goods. The company has grown to employ over 200 staff in the UAE and looks to increase its offerings to other countries in the region. The company’s success is a testament to the rapidly growing e-commerce industry in the region.

“AWOK.com’s solid growth is testament to the brand’s commitment in providing quality products at consistently low prices. Reaching this two-year milestone is a great achievement for AWOK.com and we look forward to achieving future growth in line with our third year targets. We are grateful to our loyal customers and are always striving for ways to identify and meet our consumer’s needs. 2015 marks a big year for us with the introduction of our mobile app being made available to consumers later on in the year. Our consumers already understand that online shopping is safe, easy and fast and with our new mobile application, they will be able to order must-have products directly from their mobile devices”, said Ulugbek Yuldashev, Managing Director of AWOK.com.

With a vast warehouse, speedy delivery across the UAE and one-on-one customer service, AWOK.com prides itself on being a leader in the Middle East’s growing online market. Setting itself apart from other online shopping websites, AWOK.com operates all logistics in-house, allowing it to keep prices continuously low through sourcing directly from manufacturers, distributors and re-sellers. AWOK.com runs its own warehouse, a fleet of delivery vans as well as an in-house customer service team meaning that savings are passed directly on to the consumer. A promise to deliver to customers in the UAE within 12 – 24 hours and a dedicated aftersales tech support service on-hand ensures the company’s goal to attain 100% customer satisfaction is on track.

For more information on AWOK, please visit http://www.awok.com/
Source:awok.co/UJKQos
Post By: Ramiz Ali Khan

Cash is still king for majority of Online UAE consumers

Only 15% of consumers who buy online pay with cards

Despite all of the talk about paperless transactions, e-commerce or innovations in the financial markets, cash is still king.

The majority of consumers in the UAE are not comfortable paying their new smartphone, perfume, toilet paper and other everyday essentials with plastic, a new study suggests.

Awok.com, an online shopping store in Dubai that sells all kinds of consumer goods, from cameras, phones to kitchen appliances, has been tracking trends in the retail habits of consumers in the UAE.

The company found that among those who buy stuff online, 85 per cent would rather pay cash on delivery, while only 15 per cent opt to use their credit or debit card.

These online shoppers, majority of whom are presumably keeping a stash of cash in their wallets at all times, are mostly men (76 per cent) and between 25 years and 34 years of age.

They spend an average of Dh500 on every purchase.

While online shopping is increasingly becoming popular, consumers in the UAE are quite not ready to fully embrace the culture of cashless payments due to security concerns.

"There is still a huge disconnect in trust for online shopping versus trust for online payment," Ulugbek Yuldashev, managing director of awok.com, told Gulf News.

"Consumers are still uncomfortable sharing their banking details online due to fear of being defrauded."

As to what they mostly shop for online, statistics showed that the most searched categories are mobile phones, tablets, watches, jewellery and perfumes.

Consumers electronics, preferred by 57 per cent of the customers, top the list of popular items,  followed by home and kitchen appliances (14 per cent), apparel and accessories (10 per cent), other categories (10 per cent), health and beauty products (5 per cent) and photography and cameras (4 per cent).

The majority of online customers (52 per cent) use their smartphones to shop, while a significant number (44 per cent) place orders through a desktop and a small number (4 per cent) through a tablet.

Payments experts have long noted the slow uptake of cashless payments not just in the UAE but in many markets around the world.

In 2009, 62.4 per cent of total consumer payments were made in cash, compared to 4.9 per cent for card transactions.

Experts had earlier attributed the trend to the low levels of investment in the payment systems infrastructure and concerns over credit card debt and security.

Source:awok.co/r3LmRx

website: www.awok.com

Post By: Ramiz Ali Khan