Zbooni, UAE-based c-commerce platform, announced that it has processed over $200 million in transactions since its launch in 2018.
C-commerce (connected commerce) refers to sales made through social and communications media.
Zbooni enables online businesses and physical stores to communicate with their customers through social and messaging apps, such as WhatsApp.
The platform’s gross payment volume increased by 53 per cent in the first six months of this year.
The company anticipates a triple-digit percentage growth for the full year.
To keep pace with the increase in transactions, Zbooni has doubled its employee workforce, hiring people across numerous departments, including product development, customer service, sales, marketing and operations.
“Every area of the business is growing, from the number of retailers and merchants we are serving, to headcount in every regional office, and the roll-out of new products and services,” said Ashraf Atia, co-founder and COO of Zbooni.
“We are lucky to have a highly talented team who all take real pride in delivering excellence and this is a strong reason why more and more businesses are choosing to partner with us.”
Companies are likely to sell more products when transactions are done via channels they use every day, said Zbooni in its C-Commerce MENA Report 2022.
Analysis of data showed that 20 per cent of shoppers in the region have made purchases through social media or messaging channels, such as WhatsApp.
With users’ social media activity averaging three hours per day in the region, 54 per cent of shoppers want to chat with brands the same way they do with friends.
While the sales conversion rate on e-commerce marketplaces was calculated to be 2.86 per cent, c-commerce sales showed an 84.9 per cent conversion rate.
Returns and refunds in e-commerce average approximately 30 per cent, while c-commerce manages just 0.42 per cent, said Zbooni.
The report also forecasted that c-commerce could account for 40 per cent of the region’s total retail market, which is valued at $1 trillion.
With 84 per cent of youth in the region strive to be entrepreneurs, Zbooni estimates that c-commerce can benefit over 20 million micro, small and medium enterprises.
In September, Zbooni raised $9.5 million in a Series A round funded by investors from the US, Europe and the GCC.
The company is partnered with numerous merchants across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.
To date, the platform has facilitated purchases for 600,000 customers.
