UK-based e-commerce agency Eastside Co is setting up shop in Dubai as the industry rapidly develops here in the region. CEO Jason Stokes says his company’s data-driven approach to business has found a gap in the marketplace for an end-to-end e-commerce solution for companies ready to ride the wave of new internet users online.
Working as a certified partner of global e-commerce platform Shopify, Eastside Co builds state-of-the-art websites for companies from scratch. For those already online, the company offers logistical support such as payment and delivery platforms and marketing expertise. “This is about helping local traders and entrepreneurs, however big or small, to reach their full potential,” Stokes tells Arabian Business.
Since starting out five years ago in the ‘east side’ of the UK’s second city, Birmingham, staff levels have doubled year-on-year to the present 40-strong team. The UAE launch should boost that growth, given the massive changes to the region’s e-commerce landscape. Amazon paid $580m for home-grown online marketplace Souq.com earlier this summer; Dubai-based logistics start-up Fetchr raised $41m; Mohamed Alabbar launched the $1bn Noon.com venture on October 1st. And Emaar Malls, also owned by Alabbar, bought a 51 percent stake in Namshi for an estimated $151m from Global Fashion Group.
It is now generally accepted that 2017 is the year that local e-commerce finally took off in the region. “That deal [Amazon and Souq] has helped push the marketplace further. It has started conversations with the right people on the best ways to do business and where the marketplace should be right now,” Stokes says of why the time is right to enter for Eastside Co to launch here. “It has ignited a lot more interest in people starting their own e-commerce businesses and looking at it as a viable way to earn money.”
He says that the “pain points” – particularly with regards to delivery and payments – are starting to be addressed, making the experience more seamless for e-commerce users. “That’s where we can come in, looking at existing customers that have Magento-based or other e-commerce based businesses, to help move them across to Shopify.”
Magento is an open-source e-commerce platform that currently dominates in this region by about 80 percent according to Stokes. Eastside Co is a stepping stone for connecting companies to e-commerce platform Shopify for retailers to monitor customer purchases. He argues that Shopify is more “nimble and agile”, requiring less infrastructure and maintenance upkeep.
The company currently runs about 450 e-commerce websites, using Shopify as the platform, enabling enterprise-level merchants to utilise the platform to its full capabilities and providing complimentary marketing solutions to drive trading and transactions on the finished product.
Stokes says he looks forward to revolutionising the region’s retail market by bringing key players online with carefully crafted websites tailored to their specific market goals. “A lot of it is taking a data-led approach rather than making guesses. So for existing businesses we will work out what traffic they are getting at the moment. We will look at what’s working and what isn’t. We’ll do competitor analysis and give them advice on what they’re missing out on. We’ll look at what quick wins there might be, and how to achieve what they want, by setting up a roadmap of activity.”
By implementing software and technical solutions as well as data and competitor analysis, Eastside Co can help businesses with a range of issues from increasing their sales, to generating more revenues and expanding into new territory. “For businesses that are starting up it’s a very good and pain-free entry to the market. You can really dip your toe in without having to invest massively in all the infrastructure”.
Stokes says that Eastside Co is happy to work with any type of business small or large. There has been an emphasis on fashion because it has been a big focus for e-commerce recently. But then again it is working with Dunkin’ Donuts in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and is looking to strike up strategic partnerships with local delivery companies like Fetchr.
Given the growth in all areas of the e-comms sector, there is more than enough business to aim for. With more than 85 percent of UAE residents now online, the UAE ranks as the 17th most connected state globally, overtaking the US at 24th and Germany in 19th place. The e-commerce industry in the UAE is expected to hit the $10 billion-mark by 2018, according to Mallfortheworld.com. Even more excitingly, the expected growth rate is 25 percent, climbing to 40 percent by 2020. All of which means the regional e-commerce sector is quickly gaining the hallmarks of a ‘megatrend.’
With analysts making optimistic projections for the market’s accelerating growth, there’s never been a better time for companies to go online, and invest in digital marketing and data-driven solutions. And Eastside Co is ready to help any ambitious organisation make that change.
For more information, visit eastsideco.com or call +971 4 383 5588.
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