A report by the Chinese Embassy in 2015 indicated that there are more than 300,000 Chinese nationals who live and work in the United Arab Emirates (Friedrichs,2019). The report also detailed how Chinese businesses in wholesale and retail have been using e-commerce as their primary way of selling products and services in the Middle East. As the UAE economy grows and becomes stable, more Chinese businesses are likely to be shifted to Abu Dhabi, and therefore the numbers are expected to increase over the years. A study conducted by Seetharaman, Niranjan, Saravanan and Balaji (2017) established that the UAE is making rapid steps as the fastest growing e-commerce market in the Middle East and an attractive destination for online retailers like Alibaba and Amazon. These findings are supported by a recent study conducted by the Dubai Economy and global payments technology firm VISA which established that more businesses in the UAE are adopting e-commerce as a platform for selling and marketing their products. As the UAE e-commerce market grows steadily, Chinese enterprises are leveraging technology and the increasing online networking to advance the sales volumes of their products and services. These Chinese e-commerce businesses are leveraging mobile traffic, social media, customer’s shopping experience, search engine optimization, and faster payment options to attract customers and businesses to adopt e-commerce in their purchases. However, the growth of sales volumes in e-commerce is affected by a myriad of factors, from customer preferences of these online platforms to the quality of shopping experience offered to them as they navigate different websites. This research proposal aims to determine which factors influence sales volumes in the Chinese businesses which have adopted the e-commerce strategy to sell and market their products and services in the UAE growing market.
Background of Study
The number of business organizations using electronic commerce methods and systems in their sales and marketing is increasing each day. Shortly, the e-commerce trend will become not only a tool for businesses to increase the sales volumes of their products and services but also an essential means of achieving competitive advantage. While the developed countries like China and the United States have become strongly familiar with electronic commerce as a way of selling products and services, this method of selling and marketing is still considered an innovation in the United Arab Emirates. A significant chunk of Chinese businesses in the United Arab Emirates, especially in retail and wholesale, are using online shopping websites and platforms to move their products and services. Therefore, this research proposal is based on the background of increasing digital shopping and marketing experiences in the UAE and the factors that influence the sales volumes of Chinese businesses which are using e-commerce to move their products.
Significance of the Study
That e-commerce is the future of retail sales, and marketing is not in doubt. Growth in e-commerce is increasing because of high digital penetration in the UAE. According to a research study conducted by VISA, mobile phone penetration in the UAE is currently estimated at a world record high of 210.9 percent. The nationals and residents of UAE are among the top ten globally when it comes to social media and internet consumption, spending more than 7 hours daily on these platforms. With the UAE becoming more digital and customers trusting online shopping more, this research proposal provides Chinese e-commerce businesses in the UAE to analyze ways in which they can leverage the technology to improve their shopping experience, hence increasing sales volumes.
Purpose of the Study
Having established that e-commerce is growing so fast and steadily in the UAE, it is vital to put into perspective how Chinese e-commerce businesses can take advantage of the platform to advance their sales strategies and improve their bottom lines. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that influence sales volumes in Chinese business in the UAE, which have adopted e-commerce as their primary strategy for marketing and selling. In recommendations, the research proposal will also highlight how the analyzed factors can be turned into plans for promoting sales and improving customer experiences while shopping online.
Research Questions
RQ1: In what ways are Chinese businesses using e-commerce to market and sell their products and services in the United Arab Emirates? Are these strategies proving to be effective?
RQ2: Which factors influence the sales volumes of Chinese businesses which have adopted e-commerce as the primary method and platform for marketing and selling their products and services in the United Arab Emirates?
Hypotheses
H1:
Literature Review
A significant number of studies and research have been conducted to explain the proliferation of e-commerce and online shopping for customers in the United Arab Emirates. Adebiaye and Owusu (2017) conducted a study on consumer perspectives relative to interpreting e-commerce acceptance in the UAE. The research established that there exists a positive correlation between the ease of navigating websites and the increased consumer trust in using online shopping channels. The direct and positive relationship, according to Adebiaye and Owusu (2017) increases customers preferences and attitudes towards using e-commerce businesses that have increased significantly over the years in the United Arab Emirates. In the same study, Adebiaye and Owusu (2017) supported by findings from Friedrichs (2019) established that the most industry in which e-commerce thrives and is set to achieve substantial growth in the next decade is retail and wholesale. Friedrichs (2019) found that e-commerce business sales and related transactions in the UAE are forecasted to be in the region of 20 billion dollars in 2020 and increase by 23 percent annually between 2020 and 2022., which paints a positive picture of online retail uptake in the country.