By Shahd Alhamdan
WHILE Saudi Arabia is becoming one of the top countries for e-commerce and local online shopping websites increasing each day, many Saudis still prefer to buy from international online shopping websites.
Some Saudis still believe that Saudi and Arab online shopping sites can’t be trusted, especially when they have had a bad experience using a local shopping site.
Speaking about their past experience with local online shopping, some buyers said that they received poor quality products, bad customer service and some even had their orders delivered to the wrong address.
Some buyers in the Kingdom explained that they still prefer to buy from several online local and Arab stores; whereas some founders of online businesses believe that local shopping websites are strong.
A recent market study showed that 3.9 million users conduct business online, amounting to a total turnover of SR1.1 billion a month.
Saudi Gazette spoke to several young Saudis who buy clothes and other products from Arab and international sites to find out what their views are about online shopping in the Kingdom.
Raneen Ahmed, a housewife in her late 20s, explained that she prefers to buy from international websites as she believes they are more trustworthy. She once bought from a local website, but her order went to the wrong address, so she cancelled the order and hasn’t used local sites since then.
Senior Financial Analyst Dina Abdullah said: “I recently came to rely heavily on online shopping and I prefer it over physically visiting stores. Although online shopping saves much cost and time, in some cases, delivered products may not be as described on websites, so I usually shop on reputable international websites where I can find enough customer reviews and reliable service.”
She said she is very selective when using local websites. Once, she was about to purchase a device from a very popular Arabic website, but an expert advised her not to purchase through the website, as most of their products were defective or not originals.
“Customer service in local physical as well as online stores is terrible and very weak. Representatives are totally unresponsive and think the customer is always ‘wrong’. They rarely work to find solutions for customers’ complaints or claims,” she said.
Another Saudi female, who did not want to mention her name and she is in her 20s working in the private sector, mentioned that once she bought from a local website but the quality of the clothes were not high and she suffered a lot with the customer service, who have not helped her at all. She wanted to cancel her account in the website, yet they did not have this option.
May Ahmed, a Saudi teacher in her 30s, said she buys from a local website and is happy with the service she receives, especially being able to pay cash on delivery. Although she is not always satisfied with the quality of the clothes, she said the cheap prices mean she often overlooks the poor quality.
Fahad Wardi, founder and CEO of saltnlamp.com, said he believes that shopping websites are a strong and effective tool for both consumers and businesses.
He said he disagreed with idea that Saudis do not trust local websites. “Look up Instagram — stores are popping up everywhere, offering everything from food, fashion and accessories, and people still buy from them. However, I would say that local online shoppers would seek goods on international websites, in two cases: if the product is not available on any local online store, or if the price difference is huge,” he said.
He said local businesses can increase consumer trust and loyalty in several ways, including issuing commercial registration, Google approval, Maroof seal, providing warranties, making sites fun and accessible, and providing accurate product specifications and images that are real.
“After-sale service for online businesses is based on speed. How fast you respond to your customers wither calls or emails or through social media. Half the solution with an online business complaint is fast response with manners. Then it comes to honesty about the alternative options. In all transactions with your clients remind them they are still dealing with humans in an innovative way, not just that they are dealing with a system,” he said.
