The e-commerce tour by SMEs General Authority (Monsha’at) has so far seen over 3,500 visitors, according to a senior official at the authority.
A group of experts and specialists in the e-commerce field is participating in the tour, organised in partnership with the Saudi E-Commerce Council.
General manager of Retail at Monsha’at, Mahmoud Mazi, was speaking to Saudi Gazette on the sidelines of the e-commerce fourth stop, which is taking place in Madinah on October 9-10.
More than 46 companies and bodies introduced their business activities during the tour’s last three stops in Jeddah, Asir and Riyadh.
Around 1,000 people attended the workshops, while more than 500 took part in counselling sessions with consultants.
Regarding presentations in e-commerce, there were more than 45 specialised events on the Mazaya platform, which is accessible to everyone, said Mr Mazi.
The tour aims to enhance direct communication with people interested in e-commerce in all regions of Saudi Arabia.
Mr Mazi pointed out that these factors include a young population, high spending habits, geographical location and good communications infrastructure and mobile networks, which help facilitate access to online stores.
While r-commerce will not spell the end of brick-and-mortar stores, it will enable merchants to reach their customers in any location, said Mr Mazi.
This method will assist in the arrival of local products in abundance outside the geographical borders of Saudi Arabia in global electronic stores.
“Economically, e-commerce has made money move more,” Mr added, noting that now everyone has a mall on their phone where they can buy any item from all sectors.
Saudi Arabia’s e-commerce industry will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 20.9 per cent within the next four years, according to market intelligence company Renub Research.
