How Retailers In MENA Should Overcome Challenges To Scale Digital Commerce

(MENAFN- Mid-East Info) Insights from Marat Bolatov, CEO of Cloud Retail

Having been involved in the MENA e-commerce sector, it is clear that recent growth has been driven by a combination of governmental support, a youthful population, and evolving consumer behaviours. The market, valued at around $41.6 billion in 2023 and expected to almost double by 2029, reflects these dynamic forces.

These factors create both opportunities and challenges for retailers aiming to scale efficiently and meet fastly evolving consumer expectations.

How to overcome operational complexity?

While front-end customer experience often takes the spotlight, the biggest challenge for retailers looking to scale lies in managing complex operational frameworks. Supply chains in the region tend to be fragmented, characterised by numerous small suppliers, differing delivery methods, and varying regulations across countries. These factors contribute to operational risks such as order errors, delayed deliveries, and rising costs.

In many cases, the technology infrastructure is patchwork: various unintegrated software tools piled on top of each other, leading to inefficiencies and mistakes. Manual processes like stock verification can add hours to fulfilment times, which harms customer satisfaction and adds expense. Several key players have improved performance by adopting unified platforms that merge supply chain, inventory, sales, and logistics information in real time. This integration offers end-to-end operational visibility, enabling rapid problem detection and resolution.

There are hardly any solutions on the market that provide proper delivery. An outstanding exception is Arabian Mile. They offer an integrated solution across the board, and we also assist them with their delivery system. This system, seamlessly connected with warehouse management and supporting hundreds of dark stores, enables efficient fulfilment from local hubs and streamlines compliance with regulatory requirements. It helps to reduce fragmentation, cutting down errors and delays while optimising operational costs.

Addressing complexity at this operational level is fundamental to unlocking faster growth, enhanced agility, and sustainable business practices. Aligning local supplier data with technology solutions has proven to not only improve availability of fresh products and reduce delivery times, but also increase repeat purchase rates by significant margins. Such a blend of local insights with robust technology infrastructure enables retailers to compete effectively, even against more established competitors.

Changing consumer expectations and delivery models

Consumer expectations in MENA have shifted markedly, especially following the pandemic. An ultra-fast delivery timeframe (often within 30 minutes in urban locations) is increasingly regarded as standard. Alongside speed, transparency in delivery pricing and service fees has become essential.

A relevant and real example that aligns with the shift in consumer expectations is the Egyptian company Rabbit, that guarantees delivery within 20 minutes or less across Cairo and surrounding areas. Its approach extends beyond groceries, aiming to deliver whatever customers want in under 20 minutes, a promise reflecting soaring consumer demand for speed and transparency. Additionally, other regional players like Talabat have followed suit, launching services such as Talabat Mart with 20-minute delivery windows. This ultra-fast delivery model caters to the growing urban consumer base that increasingly views rapid fulfillment as the norm, not the exception.

At the same time many retailers continue relying heavily on third-party delivery services, which provide greater reach but limit control over customer experience and fulfillment quality, sometimes leading to late or incomplete deliveries and dissatisfaction.

To overcome these limitations, an increasing number of retailers are building proprietary, integrated systems enabling full oversight from order receipt to delivery. Such platforms support quick onboarding of warehouse and delivery personnel, achieve picking times as low as eight seconds per item, and maintain order accuracy rates approaching 99.99%. This operational excellence is critical to meeting consumer demand without compromising quality, even during peak times or disruptions.

CityDrinks represents a notable example in the region, having grown order volumes by 600% year-on-year to over 4,000 daily transactions. Its utilisation of Cloud Retail's platform has enabled rapid team scaling alongside consistently low error rates, demonstrating how efficiency drives growth.

On the way to success

In a market like MENA's, online operations must be treated as central to business growth. Success depends on scalable, integrated technology ecosystems that unify marketing, sales, inventory, logistics, and analytics. Teams capable of interpreting real-time data ensure businesses remain agile, adapting quickly to changing markets and supply chain challenges.

Partnerships with technology providers should be purpose-driven, focused on tangible metrics such as quicker time-to-market, fewer errors, improved margins, and elevated customer satisfaction.

Looking ahead, sustainability and transparency will become increasingly important to consumers, who are showing growing preference for ethical sourcing, fair pricing, and honest delivery communications. Retailers able to integrate operational excellence with these values are well placed to build long-term customer trust and market leadership.

MENAFN22082025005446012082ID1109963157