DUBAI: TikTok partnered with Feedback Market Research, a UAE-based research company, to bring to light the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on online shopping behavioral shifts amongst users of the TikTok platform in the region.
The TikTok commissioned study, covering Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, highlights spending behavior amongst its early tech adopter audience and how they have accelerated the shift to online purchasing and contactless payments.
Shant Oknayan, general manager of Global Business Solutions (MENAT), said: “2020 has been a year of constant change, and with change comes huge insight for us all. With this in mind, and as a unique marketing platform with a thriving community, we wanted to better understand the changing consumer behaviour in the region in relation to online shopping to help our partners to drive engagement and achieve their goals.”
As consumers adapt to a “new normal,” the internet has become the preferred starting point to begin purchasing journey — further driving a spike for online shopping and the demand for convenience at their doorstep.
The study unveiled that a whopping 90 percent of the surveyed TikTok users in Saudi Arabia, 83 percent in the UAE, and 79 percent in Egypt had increased their online shopping habits this year. When compared to other channels, the Kingdom’s (80 percent), UAE’s (75 percent) and Egypt’s (64 percent) TikTok users were more comfortable to shop online, further signaling their quick adaptation to the circumstances.
Even the frequency of online shopping is at an all-time high, with 84 percent of TikTok users in Saudi Arabia, 70 percent in the UAE and 69 percent in Egypt shopping online at least once a month. TikTok users over-indexed across the board and were more affluent with a higher income bracket compared to users on other channels.
When it came to advertising, consumers are inundated with the volume of ads on digital platforms. However, TikTok users indicated a willingness to click on an ad with a higher intent to purchase, with 66 percent of users in Saudi Arabia, 65 percent in UAE and 68 percent in Egypt saying that an ad had persuaded them to proceed with a purchase.
Unsurprisingly, every form of payment except cash has seen a massive surge in utilization as a result of COVID-19. More and more consumers now prefer contactless modes of payment and the old barriers to online shopping have all but been obliterated.
When looking at the shift in the use of new technologies and payment options, TikTok users are more open to using these methods of payments with 70 percent of Saudi TikTok users now using credit cards to pay for purchases and 63 percent shifting to contactless payment. In the UAE, 45 percent of TikTok users now use credit cards and 53 percent rely on contactless payments. In Egypt, the adoption of credit cards for online payments stands at 48 percent and contactless payments reached 42 percent.
While online payments and contactless cards have accounted for a minority of payments in the past, the pandemic has driven consumers to change their behavior, and companies and brands to accelerate their adoption of the technology to meet consumer demand.
“What this study has shown is a huge spike in the frequency of online shopping across markets, and our TikTok users are leading the charge when it comes to digital adoption. TikTok users have a higher potential to purchase online when compared to users of other channels, due to them having an experimental mindset and a willingness to test new approaches, such as a cashless economy, before others do so,” added Oknayan.
