Talent Reunion, a lifestyle-networking platform, organized the session under the theme “Smart Shopping Innovation” at a local restaurant in Jeddah recently.
A local company recently held a workshop to help shoppers perform transactions safely on the Internet.
Several professionals, experts and young people who attended the session shared their online shopping experiences. They said that the slow start to online shopping in Saudi Arabia could be changed with proper awareness on security.
The meeting participants discussed how to get bargains on the Internet, including going to recently launched websites, buying directly or in bulk through courier services.
Yazan Jamous, founder of Talent Reunion, said that the event was organized to help people shop safely online. He said that souq.com was becoming a major online shopping website in the region.
“But most people don’t want to pay online because they are afraid of someone stealing their identity. During the sessions, we discussed the advantages of online shopping including the cash on delivery facility, which allows the purchaser to pay after receiving the item,” he said.
According to the 2014 Online Shopping Behavior Study conducted by MasterCard, around 50 percent of those surveyed indicated that they access the Internet for online shopping, of which 80 percent said they were highly satisfied with their online shopping experience.
