Impact of COVID-19 on e-commerce discussed

The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) held the 38th edition of the quarterly Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (Dtec) Forum, powered by Entrepreneur ME, titled ‘Realities of Retail in 2020: Offline to Online’.

At the opening Hans Christensen, Vice President of Dtec, said: “Every Dtec Forum edition focuses on a trending topic and tackles issues that are affecting technology and entrepreneurship industries. We aim to explore, educate, and provoke discussions that pave the way for knowledge exchange and potentially yield collaborations beyond the forum. The year 2020 has been challenging for everyone across the globe, and crucial for the e-commerce industry in the Mena region.”

Edward Sabbagh, Managing Director of Farfetch in the Middle East, headlined the Dtec Forum in a one-on-one talk titled ‘Digitizing the Luxury Experience’. He noted that many changes disrupted the industry, with fashion brands reevaluating their whole supply chain. However, he highlighted the shift from offline to online as the key change that shifted the retail landscape.

The Dtec Forum then hosted a panel discussion, titled ‘Offline to Online – Taking Advantage of the E-Commerce Boom’, moderated by Tamara Pupic at Entrepreneur ME. Panelists Khalil Alami, CEO of Telr, Rayan Osseiran, Founder of Shorages, and Renaud de Gonfreville, CEO of Ziwo, outlined the opportunities that the rapid growth of e-commerce.

Alami said: “COVID-19 has had a very heartbreaking impact on humanity, economies, and societies, from different aspects. On the other hand, it had a stimulant effect on the digitalisation of industries, such as fintech and e-commerce.”

Osseiran stressed: “Since 2017, we’ve traditionally seen e-commerce sales in the MENA region at around three to four percent in terms of penetration. That was largely due to brands’ unavailability online, as well as customers’ use of online shopping platforms.”