Accelerated by COVID-19, online sales revenue in the Middle East has doubled, from $22.4 billion USD in 2014 to $48.8 billion USD in early 2021. UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are the three markets leading this growth, contributing to over 50% of the revenue. Moreover, with high GDP per capita and high levels of mobile penetration, the Middle East is a promising market for premium consumer electronics brands. Seeing a perfect opportunity, Motorola decided to launch its DTC ecommerce site in the UAE in 2021.
“The Middle East is an emerging and key market for Motorola. We see great potential for Motorola in the Middle East because of the high purchasing power and internet penetration. We have been operating in the Middle East through retail and other offline models and now, with the DTC ecommerce site, we want to make sure all consumers across the Middle East have access to our products, wherever they may be.”
Ishneet Kaur, Head of Ecommerce at Motorola Middle East
Managing a DTC ecommerce site is not a one-man show. Motorola, a consumer electronics brand with more than 35 DTC ecommerce sites under its belt, can definitely attest that finding the right partners and keeping them close is the key to success.
Motorola got together with VTEX and Corebiz to kickstart the DTC ecommerce implementation process in the UAE. All parties worked together cohesively and worked out the kinks in the customer journey before the awaited Ramadan campaign kicked in with the launch of the Razr5 Gold phone. For instance, knowing that UAE is a highly mobile-native market, Motorola placed a heavy focus on the mobile user experience.
After several optimizations across three months and making sure that the site performance was efficient, it was time to drive traffic in. The marketing budget was used wisely on social media and Google CPC to focus on mobile users. Sales increased tenfold in May and nearly tripled in June. Overall, from February to June, Motorola’s DTC ecommerce site in UAE achieved a CMGR (i.e. compound monthly growth rate) of 300% in sales. Additionally, the online store’s conversion rate increased more than 5 times.
Evolving the DTC ecommerce site to cope with the fast growing online consumer base is a continuous project for Motorola. Every month, Motorola deep dives into the data and initiates new projects to improve the performance of the site and the overall user experience.
Working together with ecommerce experts from VTEX, Motorola translated the cold data into actionable projects. For example, looking into the consumer checkout flow, there was a big drop between the shopping cart and the actual checkout. In order to re-engage these customers, Motorola initiated cart abandonment reminder emails to give an extra push to convert them.
Moreover, after analyzing the sales data, Motorola saw that most of the orders only have one SKU, far below what is considered ideal for any retailer. In order to increase items per cart, Motorola initiated several bundle promotions to boost the sales for accessories. Ultimately, the strategy brought in increased sales and enhanced the customer experience.
“Ecommerce is ever changing and we need continuous evolution to maintain the lead in the market. And good data analysis can support us making correct decisions.”
Ishneet Kaur, Head of Ecommerce at Motorola Middle East
Being one of the oldest regions in the world with such a strong influence by local nuances, the Middle East market is unique and different, an aspect that comes into play even more when selling directly to consumers. Recognizing this differentiation deeply, Motorola emphasized localization instead of just copying one of its existing sites and operating it.
For a superior shopping experience, Motorola studied consumer behavior and competitors in the Middle East and leveraged the flexibility of VTEX out-of-the-box functionalities to implement a localized DTC ecommerce strategy. Mobile-first marketing channels, local-centric payment methods and attractive promotion mechanisms, all these business decisions built the success for Motorola’s DTC ecommerce site in the Middle East.
“Motorola is a global company but we understand the importance of localization, especially in the Middle East where consumer behavior and culture are very different. So we prefer local partners for payment and logistics to ensure a good consumer experience.”
Ishneet Kaur, Head of Ecommerce at Motorola Middle East
A CMGR above 300% is only the beginning, however. Motorola is aiming for a promising future in the Middle East, on top of becoming a true DTC brand globally.
The CCX Company, in collaboration with VTEX Commerce Cloud, expresses gratitude for having had the opportunity to enhance its understanding of the advantages, trends, and other elements addressed in the current topic. This article was jointly developed and is brought to you by the VTEX Commerce Cloud team.
