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Competing with the web giants(Kippreport (Dubai) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) A Kippreport survey has found that UAE shopping websites charge 50 percent more than their US counterparts, casting doubt on the true competitiveness of the growing online retail sector. Armed with a shopping list of 10 items - including DVDs, books, electrical items and flowers - Kipp surveyed various online stores in the UAE and US. The total cost of buying the 10 products from US sites, to ship within the States, was $421.37. If you used UAE sites for local delivery, you would pay $650.74 - or 54 percent more than in the US. The survey comes at a time of true growth in the UAE's online retail sector. More and more online shopping sites are springing up; one contender, QuickDubai.com, reported a 20 percent rise in sales during Eid al Adha, and a 25 percent rise over Christmas. Other websites catering to the UAE shopper include nahel.com, citrusstv.com, souk.com and brownbag.ae. A website called 'Dia', the first ever Arabic-language online fashion store, will launch in spring. Consumers were slow to embrace internet shopping due to a distrust of using their credit cards online, despite the UAE having the highest broadband penetration in the Middle East. But local online retailers have given customers the option of paying on delivery, which has eased the concerns of some. Evidence of this came with a Mastercard survey released last year, which found that UAE residents spent $1,193 online in the fourth quarter of 2008, more than consumers in Hong Kong ($543), Singapore ($841) and Australia ($644). According to the Arab Advisors Group, a quarter of the UAE's population shops online. But commentators point to certain barriers which could mean that local sites will never truly compete with the UAE's malls - and certainly leave them unable to offer the kind of discounts available through giants like Amazon.com. Yousef Tuqan Tuqan, CEO of Flip Media, the largest interactive agency in the Middle East, says that the UAE's inefficient national postal service and disorganized address system is part of the problem. "If you have to go to a post office to collect your items, you might as well go to a mall. There is a general mistrust of the postal system here. And the alternatives - courier companies - are not cheap," he says. Tuqan says that only concert ticket sites, airline websites, and portals selling niche products do well in the UAE's online retail market, adding that physical shopping malls are the "focal point of social life" here. And Tuqan claims that worries over using credit cards online persist: "Ecommerce is still a scary thing in this part of the world - people are very wary of using their credit cards online," he says. Kajsa Dokakis, Managing Director of QuickDubai.com, acknowledges that the size of online shopping sites in the UAE mean that they are not yet able to offer the kind of discounts available elsewhere. "We try to be the same price as retail [stores], but sometimes we go above that. Because we're not buying wholesale, we can't make the kind of discounts that Amazon offers," she says. However, Dokakis says that as the market matures and consolidates, the consumer could benefit from more competitive prices. "I think the niche sites will be [as competitive as Amazon]. At the moment there are so many small gift sites, and I think in the next few years they're going to be bought up, and there will be one or two doing really well." Dokakis claims that QuickDubai's margins have doubled since it launched in 2006. And so, given the convenience of internet shopping, it could be that online retail sites start to combat the entrenched 'mall culture' in the years to come. Online retail: the UAE Vs US - see how the sites compare on the next page. Online retail: the UAE Vs US. Kipp surveyed the price of 10 popular items on selected internet shopping sites in the UAE and US. The figures quoted below include delivery charges, where applicable, to the respective countries. DVD & Blu Ray aido.com Shipping to Dubai (Prices include $3.99 delivery charge) amazon.com Shipping to US (Individual DVDs include $2.98 delivery charge) Inglorious Basterds $20.44 $19.56 Lost Season 4 box set $69.44 $25 Ghostbusters (Blu Ray) $24.44 $17.38 TOTAL BASKET $106.34 (includes $3.99 delivery charge) $52.22(with free super saver delivery) Books ellamart.comShipping to Dubai(All orders incur $55 shipping fee and 5% Paypal fee) barnesandnoble.comShipping to US(Individual books include $3.99 delivery charge) A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainianby Marina Lewycka $69.18 $15.31 Men are from Mars Women are from Venusby John Gray $71.18 $16.09 Al-Qaeda : The True Story of Radical Islamby Jason Burke $75.18 $23.88 TOTAL BASKET $101.19 (includes flat $55 delivery charge) $42.26 Perfume emiratesavenue.comShipping to Dubai (free) fragrancex.comShipping to US (free) Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy perfume (3.3oz/100ml) $69.42 $35.65 Aqua Pour Homme Cologne by Bvlgari for Men (3.3oz/100ml) $85.76 $47.47 Electronics quickdubai.comShipping to Dubai (free) frys.comShipping to US (price includes $6.98 delivery fee) Apple iPod Touch 8GB $239.30 $196.97 Flowers quickdubai.comShipping to Dubai (free) 1800flowers.comShipping to US (price includes $12.99 delivery fee) Bouquet of red roses $48.73 $46.80 Total for all 10 items Delivery to Dubai using UAE-based websites Delivery to US using US-based websites TOTAL $650.74 $421.37 (c) 2009 Dubai Business | Kippreport. 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