The “Achilles Heel” of eCommerce “Take Off” in DFTE (Developing, Frontier, Transitional and Emerging) Markets
I was just reading an article, “The Wallet Allocation Rule: Winning the Battle for Share” where the authors, Alex Buoye, Luke Williams, Timothy Keiningham, and Lerzan Aksoy talk about “What Drives Share of Streaming Video? The Launch of HBO Max”. It is a beautiful case that comes with worksheets and detailed teaching instructions. I am grateful to the authors for contributing the case to the 9th Edition. I was wondering whether the study considered the weak infrastructure of addressing systems in Nigeria?
I raised a similar concern in my study on a more advanced market i.e., the United Arab Emirates (especially Dubai). Clicks versus Bricks-and-mortar. You may read about the issues here.
For the synopsis of my article about a decade ago, please see further insights below, as I explore the “bold and the beautiful” of the UAE retail environment, and the challenges of “The Address”(ing) systems, which impact on future research directions of e-commerce in DFTE contexts.
Purpose
This paper aims to profile the potential impact of shopping malls in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — a country renowned for its hedonic consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach is based on a combination of personal observation and review of media reports on the duality (bricks‐and‐mortar versus clicks) of investments in UAE retail space.
Findings
Initial observations of developments in the UAE shopping landscape provide compelling evidence to suggest that online shopping (etailing) is unlikely to match the hedonic consumption patterns such as major bricks‐and‐mortar investments in shopping malls (the Dubai Mall is not only equipped with an aquarium, a cinema, and a zoo, but also has an on‐site hotel).
Practical implications
The findings highlight two key challenges that would require further investigation. First amongst these is how to transform the identified entertainment aspects epitomised by the hedonic attributes of UAE shopping malls into generating “real profits” for retailers. Second is to establish how to reconcile the conflicting etailing investments in the country with the fast paced bricks‐and‐mortar developments — both running into millions of dollars.
Originality/value
This paper is one of the very few on the retail sector in the UAE and perhaps the first that examines this sector in the light of hedonism versus utilitarianism.
Citation
Madichie, N.O. and Blythe, J. (2011), “The “bold and the beautiful” of the UAE retail environment”, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 29 №6, pp. 593–601.
Publisher
Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Originally published at https://www.emerald.com.
