VW,QWHUQDWLRQDO$UDE&RQIHUHQFHRQ,QIRUPDWLRQ7HFKQRORJ\ $&,7

COVID-19 Impact on E-Commerce in UAE

Ahmad Ghandour Brendon J. Woodford
College of Business Department of Information Science
Al Ain University University of Otago
Abu Dhabi, UAE Dunedin, New Zealand
[email protected] [email protected]

Abstract— This research paper will attempt to assess the straightforward to manage an E-Commerce website or
impact the coronavirus has had on the E-Commerce industry application as a retailer, and there are no time constraints
of the UAE. Previous literature has been reviewed to which allows consumers to purchase products whenever they
understand the scope of E-Commerce previously present in the want.
UAE before the onset of the new novel coronavirus. Two time
periods have been included in the regression analysis to However, specific sectors of the economy cannot
develop a better perceptive of the E-Commerce industry digitalize their operations as their consumer base prefers a
before and after the spread of the infectious disease. Through more hands-on experience while purchasing their products.
our study, we were able to conclude a significant positive Examples of these sectors are healthcare, automobile,
relationship in both periods. Coronavirus has positively education, and a variety of services. For these reasons, there
affected the E-Commerce industry as more retailers and are some technical and non-technical disadvantages of E-
consumers have shifted onto online channels for their buying Commerce.
and selling activities. The latter part of this paper includes a
discussion and special recommendation section to underline Leading experts and economists claim while E-
the current situation and how it can be improved. Commerce may not be able to account for the loss in
economic activity, it would surely help a stable economy as
Keywords: E-Commerce, COVID-19, Pandemic, UAE the UAE would be able to reinstate itself internationally.
Consequently, a large number of businesses and small scale
I. INTRODUCTION firms digitalized their entire networks to meet the increase in
The UAE was one of the top-performing economies electronic consumer demand. The process has not been an
globally before the sudden outbreak of the new novel easy one for the economy. Whole supply chain networks and
coronavirus in Wuhan during December 2019. In the past operations have had to be digitalized to make the process of
few decades, most of the emirates were busy shifting their buying and selling profitable and straightforward. The
economy from oil onto more sustainable developmental primary trend observed in most countries is that most of the
sectors such as tourism and domestic mass production. economic activity has shifted inwards. As we can recall,
However, the global economy, including the UAE, almost every country in the world had to close its border to
witnessed a sharp drop-in economic activity due to newly prevent corona ridden patients from causing more harm to
implemented sanctions and regulations because of the their economy. Emirates such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi were
pandemic. Economies had to shut down primary operations highly dependent on tourism for their annual revenue.
and businesses to contain the outbreak of the infectious Therefore, it is clear to comprehend why precisely the flow
disease. Nonetheless, the UAE has shown an immense of financial activity has turned inwards.
innovative capacity to combat the financial crisis effectively It is estimated that there are nearly 110 million internet
in a recessionary period. Digitalization was already users of which 30 million use E-Commerce services in the
becoming an emerging trend in the UAE, the onset of Middle East [2]. Moreover [2] also estimated that nearly $3
COVID-19 acted as a catalyst and accelerated the call to million are spent per day by mobile users on E-Commerce
action. E-Commerce became popular due to the need to do platforms in the UAE. The number is anticipated to reach an
transaction during lockdown [1]. As the international trade all-time high of $500 million per day in the coming future.
dynamics change, economies will be heavily impacted due Moreover, in 2012, nearly 10% of all E-Commerce
to coronavirus. It is essential that we forecast the scope of purchases were made on mobile devices, and the remaining
the E-Commerce industry early on to prevent a financial 90% through tabs and laptops. However, in 2015 the mobile
collapse of our institutions. purchases increased by three times. Nonetheless, the UAE
The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. E-Commerce industry has recently grown by an enormous
Section II presents the related works. Section III describes with internet to the large-scale market. Consumers spend
the methodology followed by discussion and conclusion. over $3 billion for online businesses [3]. That allows us to
conclude that the scope of the E-Commerce industry in UAE
II. RELATED WORK before the pandemic was already initiated and developing.
E-Commerce is the process of buying and selling Similarly, in 2012, people made purchases totalling $9
digitally through the use of online websites and platforms. billion on UAE E-Commerce platforms. In 2015 that number
The transactions take place in one of two ways; money is increased to $15 billion [2]. Apart from the conventional
digitally transferred from one account to the other in the form products, users began to purchase a variety of goods and
of secure data, or the retailer provides services or goods. services from E-Commerce platforms such as air tickets and
Both retailers and buyers prefer E-Commerce for several electronic products. In fact, a research conducted by [2]
reasons such as low operational costs for setup, a large found that a sample group of people spent an average of
variety of products are available often at better qualities, it is $1500 on air tickets and $250 on general electronics

© IEEE 2021. This article is free to access and download, along with rights for full text and data mining, re-use and analysis.
Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
annually. Simply, we can correctly assume that E-Commerce [11], showed that E-Commerce sales are directly dependent
industry in the UAE was steadily growing well before the on the demographics of a country’s population. E-
pandemic hit [4] . Commerce sales were generally higher in areas where there
was greater access to internet facilities. Similarly, a study on
E-Commerce platforms have become a mega-trend E-Commerce done by [12] proved that people between the
among UAE business peoples. The industry was expected to ages of 18 and 28 were more likely to purchase goods and
grow to $10 billion in 2018 [5]. The results of expansion in services from online vendors as compared to physical
the industry has translated into a variety of spillover effects purchasing. Therefore, it is reasonably safe to assume that
as well such as new goods and services, higher quality, and the E-Commerce market was developing and emerging
advanced technology. Before the pandemic, the UAE was before the outbreak of the new novel coronavirus.
already well established in terms of digital trade [6]. The
pandemic did nothing but speed up the progress for E- When the previous strain of the Middle East Respiratory
Commerce in the UAE. Syndrome coronavirus (MERS) broke out, studies reported
a definite spike in E-Commerce sales and revenues of
Trade has slowly begun to resume, but global different countries. However, the market was unable to meet
partnerships and coalitions have changed. China has become the excessive demand, and the wave was short-lived. As
a significant trade partner of the UAE amidst this global mentioned before, the market for E-Commerce had already
lockdown. Despite numerous trade sanctions to contain the been developing before the new coronavirus outbreak.
virus, the UAE has continued its trade partnership with Therefore, the UAE was able to capture a more considerable
China to ensure supply chains remain functional and revenue amount of online consumer demand and make significant
is generated to keep growth levels controllable. An increase contributions to its GDP while the preponderance of
in online opportunities and employments has been observed
countries was heading towards financial collapse.
in the first quarter of the financial year for UAE. It is Nonetheless, there is still plenty of work to be done in the
expected that this number will increase as local businesses digital sector in the upcoming years. In addition to this,
and vendors find the majority of consumer demand shift to recent reports have shown that many countries, including
E-Commerce websites and apps in pursuit of services and UAE, need to diversify their supply chain partners to meet
goods. An estimate of [7] affirmed that E-Commerce holds demand requirements and prevent a supply-side shock to its
a 4.3% share in the total GDP of the UAE. However, a economy in the case of a future outbreak [13-16].
forecast showed that the digital economy or E-Commerce
industry of UAE would grow to a staggering $63 billion by The world had been witnessing an increase in remote
2023. workers prior to coronavirus. Leading market players
estimated that coronavirus would significantly change the
The fight against coronavirus has halted economic nature and dynamics of jobs and employment. It was
activities that require physical contact [8]. Comprehensive estimated that by 2038, nearly 73% of all departments in the
guidelines and sanctions have been implemented even in UAE would have remote workers [17]. A similar trend has
areas where there are no lockdowns or closures. The E- been observed globally, as well. The position of UAE in
Commerce industry had been steadily growing before the context to E-Commerce has been an accepting one. UAE has
outbreak of the virus. UAE was distinguished as an emerging not tried to fight against the changing market dynamics.
player in the global E-Commerce market as the Instead, it has stood firm and adapted to different changes
diversification of online and offline channels of business had and modified its regulations and frameworks to support the
presented increased business activity. UAE advanced its E- increase in online business.
Commerce industry by continuously innovating and
redefining online catering of consumer demands. E- Moreover, the government has also placed vital
Commerce had grown from a stable $1.3 trillion industry to platforms such as UAE PASS1 to digitalize both the private
an astounding figure of $4.1 trillion from 2016 to 2019, and public sectors of its economy if working remotely
respectively. becomes the new norm. The platform verifies the identities
of individuals and allows them to make transactions while
UAE has been the leader in MENA countries for its
being in a secure position. This and a handful of other
efforts to digitalize its economy. UAE was determined to be
reasons is why the UAE will successfully digitalize its
a powerhouse and the fastest growing Middle Eastern player
infrastructure and allows its economy to grow and become
in terms of E-Commerce [9]. Dubai had shown especially
stable in the upcoming years [2].
promising statistics in regards to attracting online businesses
and future startups. The UAE E-Commerce sales were Despite holding a firm pose against established E-
estimated to be at $16 billion in 2019, and the upcoming Commerce market players, a collection of recent literature
expected growth rate is almost 25% which is the highest in states that economies that relied heavily on their natural
the entire MENA region [10]. That has mainly been due to resources and tourisms would face comparatively more
the security and framework UAE has implemented for difficult circumstances as compared to countries that were
making online transactions simple and easy. The market engaged in trade [18]. The reason presented by [19] is that
penetration rate of the UAE was ranked at 4.2% in 2019, the UAE is a tourist destination and its megamalls and
followed behind by KSA’s 3.8%. shopping centers are not only to satisfy the domestic and
international demand. Instead, they are part of the entire
Another reason why the UAE has been witnessing an
experience. [20] furthers his argument by stating the
annual increase in E-Commerce sales is because of its tech-
economy of UAE cannot function alone on domestic mass
savvy consumer demographics. A research conducted by

1
https://www.smartdubai.ae/apps-services/details/uae-pass

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
production and consumption. Instead, it makes profits from supplier base [24]. Consequently, a large proportion of
its multicultural and diverse economy. Although UAE is countries have stopped exporting goods and services to other
abundant in natural oil reserves, the world is at a standstill, countries as infections have increased significantly.
and oil is not required currently. Therefore, it is uncertain Moreover, workers have fallen victim to COVID 19, which
whether the UAE would be able to remain stable due to has damaged the reliability of suppliers and condensed their
coronavirus. Even if the MENA powerhouse increases the operations to zero. Therefore, it has become imperative for
digitalization of its economy, it would need to indulge in economies to widen their supplier base and identify all the
international trade to increase the variety of goods and associated risks early on to avoid a financial crisis from
services it offers to its consumers. hindering their economic development and growth. Both
supply and demand for imported goods and services have
Consequently, a report published by Visa Middle East been robust since the onset of the new novel coronavirus. It
found that there were nearly 19,827,000 active mobile is estimated that countries unable to implement an effective
subscriptions in 2017 alone. The same report concluded that risk management system in their E-Commerce operations
34% of the population was under the age of 24. These digital- would have their progress set back by at least five to ten
native individuals are tech-savvy and support the global years. Effective risk management systems should be put in
onset of digitalization and E-Commerce [21]. place to prevent the collapse of the E-Commerce industry as
Soon after COVID 19, [22] laid a foundational base that either supply will dominate demand or vice versa. Hence, the
opposed the idea of digitalization and provided strong market needs to be pushed towards equilibrium through the
arguments towards any sort of innovative capacity. He stated help of government intervention, policies, and practical
that consumer demand would decrease to level at which framework.
firms and businesses would need to lay off workers. This Nair [16] reported an unusual spike in online consumer
would reduce the overall income levels, and thus, even if demand after the inception of COVID 19 in different
retailers were to switch to E-Commerce to provide goods and categories of products. For instance, the demand for skincare
services, no consumer demand would exist due to decreased products grew to 143.96% out of which 99.92% of the
levels of income. Therefore, the relationship between E- increase resulted from orders made by new customers.
Commerce and COVID 19, and its nature depends on an Similarly, a global surge in healthcare products such as
assortment of other factors as well. The UAE government masks, sanitizers, and medicines was also reported. By
would need to incentivize or subsidize production so that analyzing and forecasting changing market trends, the E-
retailers can continue their businesses through E-Commerce Commerce industry of UAE can undoubtedly meet the
and more circulation of money takes place in the economy. current digital consumer demand by creating supply chains
Supply-side shocks are argued to be more harmful to growth providing in-need products and services.
levels as compared to a demand-side shock. Most businesses
in the UAE operate under the concept that, “Supply creates Similarly, [25] also put forward an article that states the
its demand”. Supply chains and logistical operations need to Dubai based Majid Al Futtaim financial giant, which
be modified and digitalized so that the economy can resume operates 24 shopping malls, reported almost 60% increase in
without increasing the rate of infections. the demand for goods and services purchased through E-
Commerce facilities. Global companies have also
[23], wrote an interesting article hinting at the increased experienced a similar surge in online demand and have had
opportunities for economies as COVID 19 halts all physical to make vital changes to their company operations. For
buying. She listed a handful of reasons why economies need instance, Amazon hired nearly 300,000 full-time employees
to shift their business online and what challenges they may and is expected to hire 250,000 more to meet the growing
face in the entire procedure. Firms and companies need to online demand. Hence, UAE needs to get on the wave and
offer promotional products and discounts to kick start their follow the global trend, which would not only create new
online operations. Further, she states that consumers in the jobs but circulate currency within the economy at a faster
market should have symmetric information about the rate and speed up the process of restoration.
company or businesses new operations. This means that
customers should be made aware that their preferred store is As per [26], retailers around the world have started to
offering their choice of products online; the store can make augment advanced technologies in their business operations
its operations more efficient through previously performed to facilitate the consumer more effectively through virtual
market research. By highlighting the most in-demand reality systems, and AI. The retailers collect psychometric
products, more of its consumer base can be adequately information and analytics to provide the user with a more
targeted, and sales can be increased. In addition to this, personalized and individualistic experience. The product
customers should be given the top priority in this pandemic preference of the user is recorded, and only similar or
by taking into account the financial constraints they are relevant products are displayed to increase sale and
currently facing. That can be done by offering customers maximize the reduced consumer quantity. Additionally,
extendable payment invoices or payments after regular retailers have gone a step ahead and provide users with a VR
intervals. This enables the company or store to restore system so that they can assess the product more clearly and
consumer confidence as much of it was lost due to the adequately.
reduction in employment and income.
COVID 19 has sped up the process of digitalization
Another implication for the E-Commerce market in UAE across all ecosystems and has created a future trend of a new
is the disruption of supply chain networks. A report retail experience [27]. In his article, he further talks about
published in the context to the global economy stated just how all sectors of an economy will have to keep up with the
how crucial it has become for economies to expand their new trend of consumer demand through E-Commerce

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
mechanisms. He goes over critical areas, such as the future Data Sample: There is no real numerical measurement of the
of the automobile sector, education, fintech, and restaurants. E-Commerce industry in the UAE. In order to develop a
Similarly, the UAE also needs to determine the fate of its significant analysis and benchmark for the E-Commerce
lucrative industries to capitalize on digitalization. If the UAE industry, retailers had to be surveyed to understand the
is successful in answering the questions on this matter, it can switch from traditional selling techniques to digitalization in
indeed emerge as a global leader and innovator in the E- their operations. The 125 recipients of the survey are from
Commerce sector. However, [27] concentrates on the the local UAE marketplace and all of them had turned to E-
demand side of the economy more, as compared to the Commerce after COVID 19. Since COVID 19 cannot be
supply chain management. He claims that the supply chain quantified, the methods of local retailers had to be taken into
should only be changed and digitalized if there is an adequate account to highlight an increase or decrease in E-Commerce
response in digital demand. Retail, food, and medicines are use due to COVID 19. We asked them questions related to
products that would most likely either show an increased their supply and demand operations, and any change in them
demand or remain constant. However, he argues that more were quantified as the effects of COVID 19.
lucrative sectors such as automobile, education, and fintech
The 125 retailers run small to medium scale departmental
institutes should not be made digital before a proper
stores that provide a range of products that are generally high
assessment of the market demand.
in demand. To make our research more specific and give an
Continuing the argument laid down by [27], numerous accurate analysis, only stores that turned to some use of E-
other research put forward also commented on the use of E- Commerce were given the questionnaire. That allowed us to
Commerce in sectors such as healthcare and education. The make a better comparison between the two time periods and
use of E-Commerce had been growing prior to the new novel uncover the impact on E-Commerce.
coronavirus outbreak. The quality of services being offered
The retailers were asked to compare the performance of
to consumers of healthcare had been particularly improving
their operations in both periods (before corona and after
through E-Commerce and digitalization. The same picture
corona). This allowed us to assess better the disruption they
can be drawn for the healthcare system of UAE as it had been
faced in their services. A detailed data analysis, including the
offering multiple online services such as consultations and
results obtained from the regression analysis, is given below
checkups through video communication. Moreover,
in Tables II and IV.
healthcare companies had also been providing additional
services such as interactive tests that diagnosed symptoms The first five questions give us insight on the market
that users reported through personalized reports based on an condition before COVID 19. We used supply and demand as
individualist approach. Nevertheless, the future of healthcare a proxy of COVID 19. The reason behind this is that the virus
through E-Commerce remains uncertain as the pressure on causes significant changes in demand and supply of local
health institutes has substantially increased because of the retailers. The retailers based their answers on how well their
outbreak of COVID 19. A similar case can be put forward business was performing prior to COVID 19. The last five
for the automobile and educational sectors as consumers questions tell us the condition of the market after the virus.
prefer a more immersive and hands-on experience before Both the first and second part of the survey took into account
making any purchases. the retailers view on E-Commerce. The first regression was
performed using the first five questions. The second
III. METHODOLGY regression was performed using the last 5 questions of the
In order to obtain the relevant data, 125 different retailers survey.
in the UAE market were surveyed to gain first hand detailed
x First five questions = first regression analysis.
primary data regarding the changes in demand and
(Benchmark)
performance due to COVID 19. The survey was orientated
on the use of E-Commerce methods and assessed how x Last five questions = second regression analysis.
swiftly retailers were able to shift their business operations (Comparison)
to online channels. The study attempted to determine the
demand conditions before and after COVID 19 to assess the
intensity of changes that may have taken place in the market IV. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
environment of the UAE.
A. Results
The first part of the questionnaire was designed to
determine the E-Commerce market position before the onset TABLE I. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AFTER CORONAVIRUS
of the virus. Consequently, the latter part of the survey was
more useful to our multivariate regression analysis. It Measure Value
enabled us to develop a relationship to assess the impact Number of obs. 125
COVID 19 had on the E-Commerce industry. F (2, 122) 4.21
Prob > F 0.0276
A closed-ended questionnaire was distributed among the
125 retailers to narrow down the answers to specific so they R-squared 0.8681
could be enumerated. UAE government has placed Adj R-squared 0.9045
lockdowns, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have Root MSE 0.76726
been implemented, so the questionnaire was distributed as
per compliance. The questionnaire was distributed in the This data provided by respondents for the E-Commerce
local market within the city of Abu Dhabi. market situation after the onset of coronavirus fits our model

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
very well. The goodness of fit is valued at 90%. That allows supplybc = Supply before corona
us to conclude that our results are accurate and precise.
demandbc = Demand before corona
TABLE II. REGRESSION ANALYSIS AFTER CORONAVIRUS Interestingly, the E-Commerce industry was growing
before the onset of coronavirus as well. The demand side
attributes for E-Commerce were similar to the period after
the outbreak of the coronavirus. A 0.2 point change in the
demand of products translated to a 1 unit increase in the
attractiveness of the E-Commerce industry. In the context of
our survey, this implies that whenever demand-side
Ecom = E-Commerce attributes improved by 0.2 points, the E-Commerce industry
grew by 1 unit. The supply-side characteristics for E-
supplyac = supply after corona Commerce development were similar to the situation after
demandac = demand after corona the coronavirus as well. This provides us with valuable
information regarding supply chain networks. The supply
Our regression analysis confirms that the impact of reported by retailers in both periods shows us that the supply
COVID 19 on the E-Commerce industry of UAE is positive chain has not been effectively digitalized. We can declare
and has contributed to the advancement of digital buying, that supply chain networks need to be more efficiently
and selling. From Table II, we can assert that whenever the managed to improve E-Commerce industry management
attractiveness of the E-Commerce industry grows by 1 unit, after the spread of coronavirus. In simple words, the supply
supply and demand factors increase by 0.5 and 0.2 networks have been unable to meet the new online consumer
respectively. Similarly, the relationship can also be defined demand. However, COVID 19 has positively impacted the
contrarily. After COVID 19, whenever supply and demand- E-Commerce industry, and future growth can be expected.
side factors improve by 0.5 and 0.2 points respectively, the
attractiveness of the E-Commerce industry grows by 1 unit. B. Analysis
Moreover, a high F value seen in the Table I proves that the As 125 retailers have been surveyed, the analytics were
relationship between our independent and dependent done on the basis of their answers. 60% meaning
variables is significant. However, it is essential to note that 75/125*100 = 60%. That is how the percentages have been
this positive impact has been recorded as a reason for various determined. Similarly, 60/125*100 = 48%. Through this, we
other market attributes. Adjustments to the supply chain were able to conclude the percent of people and how they
network and the massive stimulus package offered by the were impacted by the virus. 75 out of 125 people (60%)
UAE government has certainly kick-started the development enjoyed a high demand. 60 out of 125 (48%) people said they
of E-Commerce industry. wouldn’t have switched to E-Commerce if the virus hadn’t
spread. Hence, the percentage of people was used to quantify
TABLE III. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS BEFORE CORONAVIRUS the effects of COVID 19.
Measure Value Through our survey, we were able to conclude that 60%
Number of obs. 125 of our sample group retailers reported enjoying a high level
F (2, 122) 3.56 of consumer demand for their products. Similarly, 68% of
Prob > F 0.0450 retailers said that the demand had been growing, which
R-squared 0.7364 means the macroeconomic indicators had also been
Adj R-squared 0.8699 improving. Less than the majority (48%) retailers reported
that they would've not transferred their business operations
Root MSE 0.69293
online if COVID 19 had not infected the Emirates. This
allows us to assert that the market position before COVID 19
This model was designed to assess the view of the E- was stable and growing, moreover; retailers were not that
Commerce industry from the perspective of retailers before open towards shifting their operations online either as they
the onset of coronavirus so a better understanding could be were enjoying a high level of profit in their regular retail
established about the impact of COVID 19 on the E- routine.
Commerce industry. Similar to the previous model, our data
However, our sample group of retailers altered their
fit the model very well as the goodness of fit is valued at 86%
position and stance on E-Commerce and decided to shift
as indicated in Table III. Furthermore, a high F value
their businesses online. In the first part of our survey, 48%
indicates that a significant relationship exists between our
retailers reported they would not turn their operations to E-
dependent variable and independent variables.
Commerce, however; after COVID 19, 60% of the same
TABLE IV. REGRESSION ANALYSIS BEFORE CORONAVIRUS sample group stated they had altered their operations to meet
the increased digital consumer demand.
Regression Analysis
Two different time periods were analyzed in our
regression. The first period took into account the retailers
view of supply and demand before the virus. This helped us
in developing a benchmark to compare the effects in demand
and supply after COVID 19. The second regression takes
Ecom = E-Commerce

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
into account the supply demand factors AFTER the virus. sellers as failure to meet consumer demands will result in a
The first analysis was the benchmark. The results of the loss of customers. Similarly, from the customer’s
second analysis were used to make the comparison and perspective, a wide range of options will be available in the
quantify the effects of the virus. The results tell us that the form of different sellers and E-Commerce platforms.
E-Commerce industry was growing even BEFORE the virus, Therefore, sellers and retailers will have to be mainly
and AFTER the speed of progress increased due to COVID customer orientated.
19.
A. Research Limitations
The regression analysis consisted of three variables out The biggest constraint in the research was coronavirus
of which, our dependent variable was E-Commerce. A major itself. Firstly, the effect of the virus had to be quantified so
complication was the attempt to numerate COVID 19. Still, that its impact on the E-Commerce industry could be
we used changes in supply and demand factors of two uncovered. Secondly, our survey was only distributed to 125
different periods to determine the exact impact of the retailers due to lockdowns and SOPs issued by the
infectious disease. government. We were also unable to get the consumers
TABLE V. DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT VARIABLES perspective as the risk of infection was very high.

Dependent E-Commerce B. Recommendations

Variable 1. The UAE government should draft specific policies
Independent Consumer demand and producer that force all retailers regardless of their size to turn
Variables supply before corona. to E-Commerce business methods so that no output
Consumer demand and supply after is lost. Moreover, the government also needs to
corona. provide particular guidelines to these businesses in
terms of hiring employees. The employment rate
will be a significant concern of the authority as E-
● Y = B0 + B1X1 + B2X2 + B3X3 + B4X4 + e
Commerce and digital purchasing allows
● Y = E-Commerce corporations and businesses to cut down on their
● X1 = Consumer Demand (before corona) staff as the number of operations has reduced.
● X2 = Producer Supply (before corona) Therefore, to maintain the employment rate and
● X3 = Consumer Demand (after corona) protect households and economics agents, the
● X4 = Producer Supply (after corona) government needs to address the situation
immediately and divert attention where it is
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION necessary.
We have been successful in describing a significant
2. A lower and upper limit should be set as to how
relationship between E-Commerce growth and COVID 19.
many goods and services a single consumer can
Our analysis shows that the demand for goods and services
purchase. This will prevent any cases of hoarding
has remained the same in both periods (before and after
and also improve the supply chain efficiency by
corona). This means that the stimulus package, including
making the frequency of shipments more stable and
special funds and subsidies, have successfully protected the
punctual. Moreover, the government can designate
consumer income levels from allowing demand to remain
special days when deliveries will be made, so
persistent throughout the domestic market. In addition to
consumers make all their purchases before that day.
this, the retailers have also responded quickly to the market
That will improve the entire process of buying and
dynamics and have developed online business channels to
selling as both the producers and consumers will
keep their business operations functional and profitable. The
only have to collect or ship their shipments once per
tech-savvy population dominates the overall population
week.
demographics of the UAE, which is one of the reasons why
consumer demand has remained stable. A large portion of 3. Alternate methods of payment should be introduced
the population also has mobile devices and adequate access to facilitate those who have been affected more by
to internet services. the coronavirus. Firstly, a secure means of
transactions should be implemented that allow
However, the supply network story is poles apart, and
producers to feel more relaxed regarding their
sizeable improvements are required to be made. The supply
payables. This will also serve as an incentive for
levels have remained conventional despite the spread of
consumers to purchase more goods and services
coronavirus. Suppliers have not digitalized their operations
with the added option of paying later or at regular
or made efforts to resupply retailers and small businesses
intervals. Items can be segregated based on special
remotely. A comprehensive set of guidelines should be
packages and discounts, for instance; the payment
drafted by UAE officials to serve as a blueprint for supplies
of luxurious goods and services should be extended
all around the country. The results from our conducted
to a period of six months. Failure of the consumer
survey tell a similar story. Through the responses of retailers,
to pay the amount in the designated amount of time
we were able to determine that the demand levels only
would result in a fine or penalty. Similarly, this will
dipped initially but reached their average level soon after.
create a regular flow of incoming payments to the
The purchasing of goods and services remained constant and
producer or seller as well.
only shifted from conventional physical purchasing to online
E-Commerce channels. Improving the quantity and quality 4. The lack of jobs can be made up for by establishing
of supply will create competition amongst E-Commerce call centers, including customer support centers,

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 and online order tracking centers. This will help Age-of-Global-Value-Chains.pdf accessed on
create jobs in the economy, and consumers can be 29Aug. 2020, 2020.
supported 24/7 without having to wait for their 9. Seetharaman, A., et al., A study of the moderate
shipments continuously. growth of online retailing (ecommerce) in the
C. Conclusion UAE. The Journal of Developing Areas, 2017.
51(4): p. 397-412.
UAE has successfully transferred its physical business
10. Ahmad, S.Z., A.R. Abu Bakar, and N. Ahmad,
operations on online E-Commerce channels while
Social media adoption and its impact on firm
maintaining consumer demand. A few modifications need to
be implemented in the regulations and frameworks so that performance: the case of the UAE. International
supply-side factors can be made more stable. Due to COVID Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research,
19, international supply chains have become disrupted due 2019. 25(1): p. 84-111.
to the lockdowns of countries all over the world. If UAE 11. Mikola, R., The Impact of Trust Factor on
wishes to emerge as a leader in the E-Commerce industry of Customer Loyalty in B2C ECommerce., in
the world, it will have to carefully expand its supplier base International Program, Graduate School of
by starting trade with new international partners. That will Business. 2019, Siam University, Bangkok,
not only diversify their trade and supply portfolio but also Thailand.
help in reducing future adversities resulting due to supply 12. Najdawi, A., et al. Analyzing the Adoption of E-
chain inefficiencies. The E-Commerce sector had been Payment Technologies in UAE Based on
developing at a rapid rate before COVID 19. If anything, Demographic Variables. in 2019 International
COVID 19 has sped up the process and scaled the E- Conference on Digitization (ICD). 2019. Sharjah,
Commerce industry of UAE on a new level. United Arab Emirates: IEEE.
13. Go-Gulf, How COVID-19 Is Impacting E-
commerce. Retrieved from https://www.go-
REFERENCES gulf.com/how-covid-19-is-impacting-e-
commerce/. 2020. March 19.
1. Kim, R.Y., The Impact of COVID-19 on 14. Huston, E., COVID-19: The Lasting Impact on E-
Consumers: Preparing for Digital Sales. IEEE Commerce, in COVID-19: E-Commerce Trends &
Engineering Management Review ( Early Access Tactics. 2020:
), 2020. https://www.attentivemobile.com/2020/07/09/cov
2. George, D., 10 reasons why UAE is the region's id-19-the-lasting-impact-on-e-commerce/.
fastest growing e-commerce market. Gulf News. 15. Kazemi, F., THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON
Online at: https://gulfnews.com/business/10- DOING BUSINESS IN THE UAE 2020:
reasons-why-uae-is-the-regions-fastest-growing- https://www.thehrdirector.com/the-impact-of-
e-commerce-market-1.1569400185597, 2019. covid-19-on-doing-business-in-the-uae/.
3. Sagaracommerce, Scope of eCommerce Businesses 16. Nair, D., UAE residents switch to cost-effective
in Middle-East. Sagaracommerce. online shopping during COVID-19 . . Gulf News.
https://www.sagaracommerce.com/blog/scope-of- Online at: https://gulfnews.com/your-
ecommerce-businesses-in-middle-east/ accessed money/community-tips/uae-residents-switch-to-
on 29/8/2020, 2015. cost-effective-online-shopping-during-covid-19-
4. Ghandour, A., An Exploratory Study of the Usage 1.1589210896861, (2020).
Level of E-Commerce Among Small and Medium 17. Haak-Saheem, W., Talent management in Covid-
Enterprises in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 19 crisis: how Dubai manages and sustains its
Global Business & Economics Anthology, 2015. global talent pool. Asian Business & Management,
1: p. 151 - 157. 2020. 19(3): p. 298-301.
5. Yuldashev, U., The Future of E-Commerce in the 18. Baldwin, R. and E. Tomiura, eds. Thinking ahead
UAE Gulf Business [online], , available: about the trade impact of COVID-19. Economics
https://gulfbusiness.com/future-E-Commerce-uae/ in the Time of COVID-19. 2020, CEPR Press
[accessed 29 August 2020]. 2017. LOndon, UK. 123.
6. Andreev, O., et al., Information technologies, e- 19. Chinazzi, M., et al., The effect of travel restrictions
commerce retail platforms and the impact on the on the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus
regional economy. Journal of Talent Development (COVID-19) outbreak. Science, 2020. 368(6489):
and Excellence, 2020. 12(2s): p. 4205-4216. p. 395-400.
7. Statista, Number of smartphone users worldwide 20. Ahmed, A. and I.M.A. Alfaki, Transforming the
from 2016 to 2021. Statista [online] United Arab Emirates into a knowledge ϋ based
https://www.statista.com/statistics/330695/numbe economy. World Journal of Science, Technology
r-of-smartphone-users-worldwide/ accessed on 29 and Sustainable Development, 2013. 10(2): p. 84-
Aug.2020, 2020. 102.
8. WorldBank, World Development Report 2020: 21. rodrigo, E-Commerce In U.A.E. The Write Pass
Trading for Development in the Age of Global Journal, 2015. March.
Value. World Bank Group World-Development-
Report-2020-Trading-for-Development-in-the-

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
22. Coibion, O., Y. Gorodnichenko, and M. Weber, , available: https://gulfbusiness.com/e-commerce-
Labor markets during the covid-19 crisis: A paving-the-way-for-the-future-of-retail-and-more/
preliminary view. 2020, National Bureau of [accessed 29 August 2020], 2020.
Economic Research. 26. KPMG, Embedding Resilience: Addressing the
23. Buekelaer, O.D., B2B E-Commerce and COVID- business Challenges Presented by the
19: Challenges, solutions and opportunities. . Coronavirus. KMPG
Sana. https://www.sana- https://home.kpmg/ae/en/home.html, 2020.
commerce.com/blog/b2b-E-Commerce-covid-19- 27. Pahwa, A., E-Commerce during COVID-19:
challenges-opportunities/ Retrieved on July 20, Preparing for now, next and beyond. EY [online]
2020, , 2020. Available at https://www.ey.com/en_in/covid-
24. Ranney, M.L., V. Griffeth, and A.K. Jha, Critical 19/ecommerce-during-covid-19-preparing-for-
supply shortages—the need for ventilators and now-next-and-beyond Accessed on 29 Aug. 2020,
personal protective equipment during the Covid- 2020.
19 pandemic. New England Journal of Medicine,
2020. 382(18): p. 382:e41.
25. Mansoor, Z., E-Commerce Paving the Way for the
Future of Retail and More. Gulf Business [online],

Authorized licensed use limited to: IEEE Xplore. Downloaded on May 11,2024 at 16:17:36 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.