Analytics10 Aug 2026 · 7 min read · explainer

UAE Social Commerce Statistics 2026

Verified UAE social commerce statistics for 2026, covering social buying, WhatsApp commerce, mobile spend, payments, discovery, and risk.

This reference was compiled from the supplied, pre-verified research dataset on 10 August 2026. Social purchase surveys, chat-commerce company data, device-of-purchase estimates, and web traffic are separate measures. Every figure retains its year, sample, source, and scope.

Key statistics

69% of UAE consumers surveyed in early 2026 said they had purchased products directly through social media platforms. Source: Visa Stay Secure study, Wakefield Research fieldwork January to February 2026; 5,800 adults across 17 CEMEA markets, with the UAE cell size not disclosed.
65% of 1,000 UAE adults used WhatsApp to contact a business in late 2023, versus 55% using a call centre and 48% email. Source: Zbooni, MENA cCommerce Report 2024, proprietary YouGov poll fielded late 2023.
59% of surveyed UAE consumers named WhatsApp as a preferred support channel, compared with 50% for email, 50% for phone, 24% for Facebook, and 18% for Instagram. Source: Zbooni and YouGov, n=1,000 UAE adults, late 2023.
Zbooni reported 84.9% conversion across chat-based sales interactions on its platform from October 2021 to March 2022. Source: Zbooni, cCommerce MENA Report 2022; company-owned data that is not comparable with website conversion measured against all visits.
UAE mobile commerce reached about US$8 billion in 2024, up from US$1.9 billion in 2019, and Euromonitor forecasts US$12.8 billion in 2029. Source: Euromonitor International for EZDubai, E-Commerce Report 2025; 2029 is a forecast.
Euromonitor's device-of-purchase figures put mobile at roughly 90% of UAE online goods spending in 2024, with mobile at US$7.9 billion and total e-commerce at US$8.8 billion. Source: Euromonitor International for EZDubai, E-Commerce Report 2025; this is broader than in-app commerce.
Mobile phones generated 59.35% of UAE web page views in July 2026, compared with 40.02% for desktop and 0.63% for tablets. Source: Statcounter GlobalStats, July 2026; traffic share, not spending share.
77% of product discovery among 20,000+ surveyed UAE and Saudi shoppers occurred through digital channels, with social media the leading driver, while 68% knew what they wanted before entering a store. Source: Tabby, Ultimate Middle East Shopping Survey, fieldwork November 2025; UAE and Saudi Arabia combined, no UAE-only split.
25% of MENA consumers said they shopped through social platforms in Checkout.com's 2026 research, versus Visa's 69% lifetime-behaviour result for the UAE. Source: Checkout.com, MENA Digital Commerce 2026; regional current habit, with no sample details disclosed, so it does not contradict Visa's differently worded UAE question.
38% of UAE scam victims surveyed by Visa said the incident occurred on social media, while 46% of UAE respondents had experienced a financial scam in the prior 12 months. Source: Visa Stay Secure study, fieldwork January to February 2026.
87% of 1,000 UAE adults preferred a human for product enquiries and 87% preferred a human for customer support; 13% chose a machine in each case. Source: Zbooni and YouGov, fieldwork late 2023.
Meta states that Shops ads use offsite checkout, with shoppers discovering products on Facebook and Instagram and completing checkout on the merchant's website. Source: Meta for Developers, Commerce Platform documentation, retrieved 10 August 2026.

In Visa's early-2026 UAE findings, 60% discovered new brands while shopping online, 85% used AI to assist with shopping, and only 32% trusted an AI agent to complete checkout. Source: Visa Stay Secure study, fieldwork January to February 2026.
56% of surveyed UAE adults preferred WhatsApp for marketing and sales information, compared with 50% for email and 34% for phone calls. Source: Zbooni and YouGov, n=1,000, late 2023.
88% of surveyed UAE adults said WhatsApp was the easiest way to get quick, accurate business responses, 85% wanted every business to offer it, and 84% found it more helpful than email. Source: Zbooni and YouGov, n=1,000, late 2023.
A 2021 Zbooni SME survey ranked Instagram at 79.4%, WhatsApp at 44.2%, own websites at 38.2%, Facebook at 36.9%, and marketplaces at 18.0% as important online-sales drivers. Source: Zbooni, cCommerce MENA Report 2022; five-year-old MENA-scope vendor research.

Mobile scale and payment rails

talabat reported about 7.7 million monthly active customers, 84,000 partners, 157,000 active riders, and US$9.4 billion GMV in 2025 across eight markets. Source: talabat Annual Report 2025, audited; the UAE was its largest market but no UAE-only split was published.
Cards represented about 65% of Zbooni chat-commerce payments and Apple Pay about 29%, with other wallets about 6%. Source: Zbooni, cCommerce MENA Report 2022; MENA-scope company data from 2022.
In Euromonitor's 2024 multi-select UAE survey, 93% used cards online, 70% cash, 53% a digital wallet, and 37% bank transfer. Source: Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer via EZDubai, n=1,005; method-use shares, not transaction-value shares.
Aani reached 12.5 million users by 10 April 2026, supported transfers up to AED 50,000, and completed transactions in about 3 seconds. Source: Al Etihad Payments, a Central Bank of the UAE subsidiary; no e-commerce checkout share is published.

Discovery, reach, and live shopping

YouTube ranked first for product research among 70% of surveyed UAE consumers in 2024, while one in four UAE digital consumers contacted a brand through social media. Source: Euromonitor Voice of the Consumer via EZDubai, n=700 to 899 for YouTube and n=998 for brand contact.
TikTok reported UAE ad reach of 12.5 million adults in late 2025, Facebook 9.70 million, YouTube 8.37 million, Instagram 8.05 million, and Snapchat 5.13 million. Source: platform advertising resources via DataReportal, figures dated late 2025; ad reach is not unique usage.
Facebook generated 73.17% of measured social referrals to UAE websites in July 2026, followed by YouTube at 10.82%, Instagram at 8.69%, and X at 4.45%. Source: Statcounter GlobalStats, July 2026; referral headers, not influence or platform use.
The Luxury Closet attributed about 20% of H1 2024 GMV to social commerce through Instagram Shopping and augmented-reality try-on. Source: Euromonitor International for EZDubai, E-Commerce Report 2025; single-company UAE disclosure, not a market share.

Data gaps and conflicts

No primary source publishes UAE social-commerce GMV, live-shopping GMV, TikTok Shop seller counts, WhatsApp reach, social conversion rates, mobile share of order count, or device-level transaction value. Visa's 69% and Checkout.com's 25% cover different questions and geographies. Euromonitor's roughly 90% mobile device-of-purchase share, Statcounter's 59.35% mobile traffic share, and the separate “nearly 40%” GCC mobile-retail claim use different definitions and must not be substituted.

Cite this page

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

Sources

Visa, Stay Secure study, 9 June 2026.
Zbooni, MENA cCommerce Report 2024, YouGov n=1,000 UAE adults.
Zbooni, cCommerce MENA Report 2022.
Euromonitor International for EZDubai, E-Commerce Report 2025.
Tabby, Ultimate Middle East Shopping Survey, 30 March 2026.
Checkout.com, MENA Digital Commerce 2026, 13 May 2026.
Statcounter GlobalStats, UAE device share, July 2026.
talabat Annual Report 2025, 31 March 2026.
Al Etihad Payments, Aani milestone dated 10 April 2026.
DataReportal, Digital 2026: The United Arab Emirates, 5 November 2025.
Statcounter GlobalStats, UAE social referral share, July 2026.
Meta for Developers, Commerce Platform, retrieved 10 August 2026.