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Analytics10 Aug 2026 · 14 min read · explainer

UAE E-commerce Statistics 2026

Verified UAE e-commerce statistics for 2026, covering market size, payments, mobile commerce, shoppers, delivery, operators, and seasonality.

This reference was compiled from the supplied, pre-verified research dataset on 10 August 2026. Every statistic retains the year and scope used by its publisher. The two best-known market-size series are not interchangeable: Euromonitor measures online retail sales of goods, while Worldpay measures a broader consumer-to-business online payments universe that also includes services such as travel, hospitality, entertainment, gaming, and digital content.

Key statistics

Market size and growth

Euromonitor's USD 8.8 billion figure covers online retail goods and excludes travel, hospitality, food-delivery services, gaming, digital content, business-to-business payments, and bill payments. Worldpay's USD 36 billion figure covers broader consumer-to-business e-commerce transaction value. Both are valid within their own definitions, but they must never be blended.

Payments and cash on delivery

Payment-method shares by transaction value are not the same as the share of consumers who have ever used a method. This is why Worldpay's 7% cash share and Euromonitor's 70% of consumers who used cash can both be true.

  • Debit cards represented 15% of UAE e-commerce value in 2025, account-to-account payments 10%, BNPL 4%, and prepaid cards 2%. Source: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026, 11th edition published April 2026.
  • Cash including cash on delivery held a 7% share of UAE e-commerce value in both 2024 and 2025, and Worldpay forecasts that share to fall to 4% in 2030. Sources: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2025 and Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026; the 2030 figure is a forecast.
  • MENA-wide preference for cash on delivery fell from 41% in 2020 to 20% in 2023, while preference in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait was reported as low as 10% in 2023. Source: Checkout.com, 4th annual MENA e-commerce report, published 14 May 2024; this measures stated preference, not UAE transaction value.
  • Cards accounted for 43% of UAE online spending and 55% of in-person spending in 2025, excluding cards used inside wallets. Source: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026, 11th edition published April 2026.
  • Credit cards fell from 34% of UAE e-commerce value in 2024 to 27% in 2025 while digital wallets rose from 30% to 35%. Sources: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2025 and Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026; the 2026 report changed how BNPL inside wallets is attributed, so the series is not strictly like for like.
  • BNPL represented 4% of UAE e-commerce value in 2025 and is forecast by Worldpay to grow at a 14% compound annual rate to 2030. Source: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026, 11th edition published April 2026; forecast growth.
  • Worldpay forecasts UAE account-to-account payments to grow at 17% CAGR online and 22% CAGR at points of sale from 2025 to 2030. Source: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026, 11th edition published April 2026; forecasts.
  • UAE card scheme share in 2024 was Visa 52%, Mastercard 41%, other schemes 4%, American Express 2%, and Diners Club 1%. Source: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026, latest available scheme data referring to 2024.
  • In 2024, 77% of UAE digital wallet users named cards as their primary funding source, split into credit cards at 47%, debit cards at 21%, and prepaid cards at 9%. Source: Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2025, latest available funding split.
  • Digital wallet adoption among surveyed UAE consumers rose from 41% in 2020 to 50% in 2023 and 53% in 2024. Source: Euromonitor International, Voice of the Consumer: Digital Consumer Survey 2024, via EZDubai, share of respondents using wallets for online purchases.
  • Aani had more than 12.5 million registered users, 74 connected licensed financial institutions, and approximately 774,000 participating merchants by April 2026, after transfers grew sixfold year on year and completed in under three seconds. Source: Al Etihad Payments, Aani press release, published 10 April 2026; Aani's e-commerce checkout share is not published.

Mobile commerce, delivery, and shopper behaviour

Euromonitor's mobile-commerce value measures the device used to complete a purchase. Statcounter measures web page views. Neither series is a share of UAE e-commerce orders.

Cross-border and customs

Operators and logistics

The operator figures below are regional unless explicitly labelled UAE-specific. Large operators rarely publish UAE-only revenue or gross merchandise value.

  • Talabat reported USD 9.5 billion in regional GMV for 2025, up 28% in constant currency, from 585 million orders and about 7.7 million monthly active customers in December 2025. Sources: Talabat Holding plc, Q4 2025 results and Talabat Holding plc, Annual Report 2025; regional across eight markets, not UAE-only.
  • Majid Al Futtaim reported regional e-commerce revenue of AED 3.2 billion in 2025, up 20%, while its UAE revenue exceeded AED 22 billion and grew 11%. Source: Majid Al Futtaim FY2025 results, published 16 March 2026; the e-commerce figure is regional and the UAE revenue figure covers all channels.
  • Aramex's global Domestic Express volumes grew 8% in 2025 while International Express volumes fell 16%, and Logistics and Warehousing revenue grew 18%. Source: Aramex PJSC, FY2025 investor presentation, published 16 February 2026; global figures, not UAE-only.

Seasonality and retail events

  • Checkout.com's UAE processing data showed online marketplace transactions rising 143% in the lead-up to Ramadan, with apparel up 78%, healthcare up 48%, travel agencies up 42%, and sports and toys up 31% in a 2021 to 2023 comparison. Source: Checkout.com, Online marketplace spending skyrockets during Ramadan in the UAE, published 4 April 2024; single-processor data and not a 2026 measurement.
  • Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment reported a 144% average spending increase across its 2025 retail campaigns, involving more than 1,300 brands and more than 4,000 outlets with 86% customer satisfaction. Source: DFRE / Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, FY2025 results, published February 2026; total retail spending, not online only.
  • Dubai Summer Surprises produced a 110% increase in average spending during its 66-day 2025 edition, with more than 1,050 brands at more than 3,800 outlets and AED 20 million in prizes. Source: Dubai Media Office, Dubai launches 2026 retail calendar, published 25 November 2025; total retail spending, not online only.
  • The Great Dubai Summer Sale and Shop, Scan & Win generated AED 150 million in sales and a 200% increase in retail spending in summer 2025, with 88% satisfaction. Source: DFRE / Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, FY2025 results, published February 2026; total retail spending, not online only.
  • The UAE introduced a 9% statutory corporate income tax from 2024 and a 15% domestic minimum top-up rate for large multinationals from 2025, while Talabat's effective tax rate rose from 5.5% to 15.5%. Source: Talabat Holding plc, Annual Report 2025; UAE-specific tax context.

Data gaps and conflicts

No official UAE government series measures e-commerce market size. No verified primary source publishes the number of UAE online shoppers, average order value, average annual spend per shopper, cash on delivery as a share of orders, a UAE returns rate, a UAE fraud or chargeback rate, digital-wallet share by brand, or UAE-only operator revenue.

The USD 8.8 billion Euromonitor goods-retail actual for 2024 and the USD 36 billion Worldpay consumer-to-business payment-value actual for 2025 differ because their scopes differ. The 7% cash figure is value; the 70% figure is people who have used cash; the 10% figure is stated preference across a three-country group. Mobile commerce at roughly 90% is device-of-purchase value; mobile web traffic at 59.35% is page views. None of these pairs can be substituted for each other.

The latest EZDubai / Euromonitor edition remains the May 2025 report with 2024 actuals. Checkout.com's cash-on-delivery preference series ended with 2023 data. The U.S. International Trade Administration gives no date or methodology for its 58% cross-border figure. Dubai retail-event uplifts cover total retail, not ecommerce alone.

Cite this page

Shabang (2026), UAE E-commerce Statistics 2026, Shabang, last updated 10 August 2026, https://shabang.ae/guides/analytics/uae-ecommerce-statistics/. Credit the original publisher named beside any figure and Shabang as the compilation.

Sources

  1. Euromonitor International for EZDubai, E-commerce Report 2025, published May 2025.
  2. Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2026, 11th edition published April 2026.
  3. Worldpay, Global Payments Report 2025, published 11 March 2025.
  4. DataReportal / Kepios, Digital 2026: The United Arab Emirates, data dated October 2025.
  5. Euromonitor International for EZDubai, E-commerce Sector in the MENA Region, 4th edition, published May 2024.
  6. Visa, Stay Secure study, published 9 June 2026.
  7. Amazon, Amazon Now delivery UAE, published 21 October 2025.
  8. Checkout.com, 4th annual MENA e-commerce report, published 14 May 2024.
  9. Al Etihad Payments, Aani press release, published 10 April 2026.
  10. Statcounter GlobalStats, Desktop vs Mobile vs Tablet Market Share in United Arab Emirates, July 2026.
  11. Visa, Checkout Friction Report, published 2 June 2025.
  12. U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, UAE Country Commercial Guide: eCommerce, last published 26 August 2025.
  13. EY Global Tax Alert, Dubai reinstates former import value threshold of consignments, 15 March 2023.
  14. Talabat Holding plc, Annual Report 2025, published 31 March 2026.
  15. Majid Al Futtaim FY2025 results, published 16 March 2026.
  16. Aramex PJSC, FY2025 investor presentation, published 16 February 2026.
  17. Checkout.com, UAE Ramadan marketplace analysis, published 4 April 2024.
  18. Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, FY2025 results, published February 2026.
  19. Dubai Media Office, Dubai launches 2026 retail calendar, published 25 November 2025.

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