As online shopping becomes part of everyday spending, AI, social commerce, payments and rising delivery expectations are changing how retailers compete
- By:
- Kushmita Bose
The way consumers shop in the UAE has changed significantly in recent years, with online purchases becoming increasingly routine.
The share of domestic payment volume taking place online and in apps has risen from 35% in 2019 to 55% in 2026, according to new research from Visa. The change is not simply being driven by occasional large purchases. The share of UAE cards making 10 or more online or in-app purchases a month has risen from 4.5% in 2018 to 25.7% in 2026, pointing to digital commerce becoming increasingly embedded in everyday spending.
The wider regional market is growing alongside this shift. The e-commerce market across selected Middle East and North Africa markets reached $35 billion in 2024 and is expected to continue expanding through 2029, according to EZDubai’s E-Commerce Report. The UAE market recorded a compound annual growth rate of 21.3% between 2019 and 2024, with further growth projected through 2029.
But as shopping online becomes increasingly commonplace, the nature of the competition is changing. Having an online store is no longer enough. Consumers are moving between websites, apps, marketplaces and social platforms, while expecting faster delivery, flexible payments and simple returns.
Artificial intelligence is now becoming part of the way people shop too. For retailers, this means competing not only on products and prices, but also on how easily customers can find what they want, pay for it, receive it and return it.
The shopping journey is changing
The traditional path to an online purchase was relatively straightforward. A customer searched for a product, visited a website or marketplace, added an item to a basket and checked out.
Today, that journey can begin almost anywhere.
Social platforms have become one of those starting points. Visa’s UAE Stay Secure study, released in June, found that 69% of consumers surveyed had purchased products directly through social media.
Consumers may see a product on social media, compare prices elsewhere, read reviews and eventually buy through a marketplace or retailer’s app. The boundaries between advertising, product discovery and the transaction itself are becoming less distinct.
For retailers, this means being visible where consumers spend their time, rather than relying on customers to arrive directly at an e-commerce website.
It also raises the importance of consistency. Prices, product information, payment options and delivery expectations need to work across different channels as consumers move between them.
One of the biggest new variables is artificial intelligence. Its immediate role, however, appears to be more about helping consumers make decisions than making those decisions for them.
Visa’s UAE research found that 85% of consumers surveyed had already used AI tools to assist them while shopping. Checking product reviews or ratings was the most common use, followed by comparing prices and finding gift ideas.
Separate research from DHL also points to significant adoption. Its 2026 E-Commerce Trends Report, based on 29,000 online shoppers and 5,800 businesses across 29 countries, found that 51% of UAE respondents use AI-powered chat tools while shopping online, putting the country among the markets with the highest adoption in the survey.
But there is an important distinction between asking AI for help and allowing it to spend money.
While 93% of UAE respondents in Visa’s study said technologies including AI were making online shopping faster and easier, only 32% said they would trust an AI agent to complete checkout on their behalf. For now, that suggests AI may change the discovery and comparison stages of e-commerce faster than the transaction itself. Consumers appear comfortable using it to narrow choices and find information, but considerably more cautious about handing over control of a purchase.
Convenience extends beyond the screen
For all the technology changing online shopping, one of the biggest factors determining whether a customer completes a purchase remains much more practical: how the product gets to them.
DHL’s 2026 research found that 92% of UAE shoppers prioritise fast, free delivery and easy returns when shopping online. More importantly for retailers, 83% said they would abandon a shopping cart if their preferred delivery option was unavailable, while 81% would do the same if they could not access their preferred returns option.
Home remains by far the most common destination for UAE orders. About 84% of UAE respondents said their orders are predominantly delivered to their home, a neighbour or another safe place, compared with 12% using parcel lockers and 4% parcel shops or convenience stores.
The pattern is similarly clear when something needs to go back. About 73% of UAE respondents said unwanted goods are predominantly returned through collection from their home
For consumers, these services increasingly form part of the expected online shopping experience. For retailers, however, they come with a cost.
The changing market can also be seen in the volume of goods moving through Dubai. Dubai Customs’ Air Cargo Centres Management processed around 18.2 million customs transactions during the first half of 2026, up from about 11.9 million a year earlier. Within its Free Zone Department, more than 6.2 million postal parcels were handled during the six-month period, reflecting the volume of smaller shipments associated with e-commerce.
Cross-border shopping puts customs in focus
The growth of cross-border shopping is placing greater emphasis on what happens after an online order is made. Customs clearance, fulfilment and returns can all influence how quickly a purchase reaches the customer and how easy it is to send back.
Dubai has recently adjusted its rules in response to that shift. From August 3, the customs duty exemption threshold for eligible goods within cross-border e-commerce shipments was increased to Dh1,000 of cost, insurance and freight value. Dubai Customs said the change was intended to reduce procedural costs for lower-value shipments and support the growth of digital trade.
The changes also address returns. Goods imported by companies for personal purposes can qualify for customs-duty exemption when returned within 60 days, provided the relevant duties had previously been paid and other conditions are met.
Payments are another part of the e-commerce journey where expectations are evolving.
Consumers increasingly expect to be able to use their preferred payment method without additional steps, particularly on mobile devices. That makes checkout a potential point of friction at precisely the stage when a retailer is closest to securing a sale.
The UAE’s domestic payments infrastructure is also expanding into e-commerce. In September, Mastercard and noon payments announced that Jaywan cards, part of the UAE’s domestic card scheme, can now be used for online transactions through Mastercard Gateway across noon payments’ digital payments ecosystem.
At the same time, greater digital activity brings another challenge: trust.
Visa’s June research points to the risks associated with the growth of digital shopping, particularly as consumers increasingly discover and purchase products through social platforms. Among consumers who had experienced scams, 38 % said the incident took place on social media.
That creates a tension for the next phase of e-commerce. Retailers and payment providers are trying to remove steps from the transaction, but consumers also need enough security and transparency to feel comfortable completing it.
