Saudis have been enjoying the benefits of the Internet since it was made available in the Kingdom in the late 1990s. As elsewhere in the world, Saudis now make a large part of their purchases online, perhaps even more enthusiastically than most.

Online banking was one of the first services introduced some time ago, followed by online shopping and many other services. Today every service has an application to carry out the service, such as paying government fines, applying for labor authorizations, passport applications, etc. Until recently, Saudis had only two sources of entertainment, namely going out to restaurants or shopping. I never would have thought that they would replace the pleasure of shopping in malls and shops with online shopping, but they have.

The joy of browsing through stores worldwide and being able to wear designs not available in Saudi Arabia is a luxury, says Maha M, a 39-years mother of two. It feels like with a mouse click, I am in London or Tokio or Istanbul.

But that is not the only reason for Saudis becoming one of the top internet-using nations. It is also the hustle of going out for shopping at the right times and organizing the family before shops close for prayer times. The time available for shopping between prayers, especially in the afternoon and early evening, are not long enough to visit many shops, while the roads to usually full of traffic. Prayer times, variety of choices, traffic, accessibility are for sure convenient factors that made online shopping a luxury for many Saudis.

In addition, there are now alternative forms of entertainment, like going to the cinema, concerts or other cultural events.

Saudi shoppers are ‘extremely’ digitally savvy, says fashion guru. Read more: http://bit.ly/31ZBMvs