AliExpress meets record growth in demand for home products in Saudi Arabia

By: Allen Wang, Business Manager- Middle East operations at AliExpress

How is AliExpress managing their operations during the Covid-19 situation in KSA? 
Ans: During the COVID-19 outbreak, AliExpress recorded an exponential growth in the ‘Home Demand’ segment across Saudi Arabia. AliExpress has selected the related products with the best offers from 100 million products.

With more people working from home, there is a stronger demand across different categories, especially on home related products. Printer related products have seen exceptional growth, with demand increasing by 163% while demand for computer and accessories grew by 165%. 

There has been a consistent growth in demand for Sleep & Lounge products, which increased by 414% while demand for children’s products such as clothes increased by 146% and sales of toys increased by 195%.

Home Appliance also registered 132% in sales growth by while coffee-ware by a whopping 270%.

More people tend to focus on home improvement as Home & Garden products increased by 100% and the Home Textile segment by over 115%.

What are the future plans of AliExpress in KSA during the second half of the year?
Ans: Since the localized operation by launching “AliExpress Direct” fast shipping service in 2018, we have seen a huge growth in the region, especially in KSA, with more than 100% YoY growth. This is a testament of trust our customers give us, we are committed to keeping improving the service to meet the demand of consumers and bringing more quality products with best offers to our consumers. 

In the second half year, we are planning to launch several projects and services including Free return for selected products, recruiting more influencers to join our social ecommerce programs, and launching several biggest promotions including double 11 global shopping festival. 

What according to you have been the biggest shifts in the needs of customers in recent years and how has AliExpress adapted to serve those needs?
Ans: We have seen two major needs shifts in recent years. One is the expansion of categories purchased online as more and more consumers move to online shopping. AliExpress has expanded the supply by opening the platform to local sellers in four piloted countries outside of China, Russia, Spain, Turkey and Italy so that consumers can have more choices and different assortments.

The second shift is that consumers no longer only pays attention to prices but also services, such as delivery time and quality guarantee. In response, AliExpress introduced “AliExpress direct” fast shipping service with the delivery time ranging from 15-20 days, as well as Cash on delivery to meet the needs in the market. AliExpress also launched Free return service for certain categories. 

Can you highlight the main category and where you are seeing growth from the region?
Ans: The main categories are Home & Garden，Phones & Telecommunications，Consumer Electronics，Home Appliances，Automobiles & Motorcycles，Beauty & Health，Mother & Kids etc, which contributed most of the growth from the region.