17 Big Moves Redefining Global & MENA eCommerce

RETAIL Monthly Wrap-Up May

As May comes to a close, the digital commerce ecosystem keeps on changing fastโ€”from high-stakes purchases and regional growth to AI integrations, viral consumer behavior, and regulatory changes. This month’s highlight shows how technology, trade, and change are converging in global and regional markets. Here’s your all-inclusive pulse check on the stories that are shaping the future of commerce.

๐๐š๐ฒ๐๐š๐ฅ ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ ๐Œ๐„๐๐€ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐๐ช๐ฎ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ƒ๐ฎ๐›๐š๐ข

In a significant expansion milestone, PayPal has opened its first regional HQ in the Middle East and Africa in Dubai Internet City. Having a global presence in more than 200 markets and payment volume of $1.68 trillion, the move reiterates PayPal’s long-term commitment to facilitation of digital commerce in the region.

Look for enhanced support to SMEs, innovative cross-border payment technologies, and an innovation pipeline of AI-powered fintech solutions aimed at driving MENA growth.

๐ƒ๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐ƒ๐š๐ฌ๐ก ๐๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐ฌ $๐Ÿ‘.๐Ÿ”๐ ๐€๐œ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐จ๐จ

US-headquartered DoorDash is making a big push across the Atlantic with a $3.6 billion takeover bid for UK food delivery player Deliveroo. The 180p-per-share offer is now under consideration, with board approval due by May 23. The deal, if completed, would open access to 10 new overseas markets and further consolidate DoorDash’s presence in Europe, after it acquired Wolt for $8B in 2021.

With Deliveroo’s share price off by almost 50% since its IPO and recent pullback from Hong Kong, this proposal may be the turning point both brands requireโ€”marking a redrawing of the food delivery map around the globe.

๐”๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐”๐€๐„ ๐‚๐š๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐‹๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐’๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ข๐ง๐š๐›๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ

Unilever is marrying business and environmental responsibility in the UAE with a new initiative linking product prices to environmental influence. The campaign involves planting 6,000 mangrove trees and boasts high-profile partnerships with LuLu, Emirates Nature-WWF, and local influencers.

The early effect? A 12% increase in sales of sustainable products, demonstrating the power of eco-awareness, education, and incentives to change behaviour at scale.

๐€๐ซ๐š๐ฆ๐ž๐ฑ ๐‚๐„๐Ž ๐Ž๐ญ๐ก๐ฆ๐š๐ง ๐€๐ฅ๐‰๐ž๐๐š ๐‘๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ฌ ๐€๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ ๐˜๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ฌ

In a top leadership shake-up, Othman AlJeda has resigned as CEO of UAE-headquartered logistics industry leader Aramex. It is his third straight decade at the top, and his departure is “for personal reasons,” but happens at a time when there is a general top-level churn. Nicolas Sibuet, CFO of Aramex, is assuming the role of acting CEO.

The announcement follows Q Logistics, part of Abu Dhabiโ€™s ADQ, acquiring a majority stakeโ€”marking a pivotal moment in Aramexโ€™s evolution as it gears up to compete in a next-gen logistics market.

๐ˆ๐Š๐„๐€ ๐๐ž๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ก๐ž๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐จ๐ฐ๐ง๐ž๐ ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž

IKEA is further extending its sustainability strategy with the opening of IKEA Preowned in Belgiumโ€”an online marketplace for consumers to sell and purchase second-hand IKEA products. Following pilots in Madrid and Oslo, the initiative takes advantage of Belgium’s emerging circular economy.

In 2024 alone, IKEA had more than 11,600 returned items through in-store buyback. Belgium’s second-hand furniture market reached โ‚ฌ184M in 2023, up 31% YoYโ€”making this step both timely and strategic.

๐€๐ƒ๐๐Ž๐‚ + ๐ง๐จ๐จ๐ง: ๐€๐ˆ-๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐‹๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ฌ ๐‘๐ž๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐”๐€๐„ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ

ADNOC Distribution is partnering with eCommerce giant noon to transform last-mile delivery in the UAE. The approach? Roll out noon Minutes hubs at ADNOC fuel stations to establish a lightning-fast, AI-driven logistics system that delivers ADNOC Oasis products directly to customers’ doorsteps.

This collaboration merges ADNOC’s vast retail network with noon’s advanced logistics technologyโ€”propelling the UAE toward a new benchmark in on-demand convenience.

๐๐š๐ญ๐š๐ซ'๐ฌ ๐ƒ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ฅ ๐๐š๐ฒ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ $๐Ÿ‘.๐Ÿ–๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐œ๐ก

Card spending reached QR13.8 billion ($3.8B) in March 2025, over almost 48.4 million transactions, according to the Qatar Central Bank. Point-of-sale was 58%, eCommerce 27%.


These figures reflect Qatar’s fast-track transformation to digital-first, cashless payments, spurred by demand, phone penetration, and fintech growth.

๐‘๐š๐›๐›๐ข๐ญ ๐‡๐จ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐’๐š๐ฎ๐๐ข ๐€๐ซ๐š๐›๐ข๐š, ๐“๐š๐ซ๐ ๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Œ ๐ƒ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”

Egyptian startup Rabbit has opened for business in Saudi Arabia, establishing its regional HQ in Riyadh and launching dark stores in major cities. Backed by leading investors, the firm is seeking 20 million item deliveries by 2026, pursuing a $2B+ e-grocery opportunity in an underpenetrated market.


Rabbit’s tech-led, hyperlocal approach is a complete fit for Saudi Vision 2030โ€”prioritizing SME development, digitalization, and local sourcing.

๐“๐ข๐ค๐“๐จ๐ค ๐’๐ก๐จ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ ๐‹๐š๐ฎ๐ง๐œ๐ก ๐ข๐ง ๐‰๐š๐ฉ๐š๐ง

TikTok is further expanding its commerce domination worldwide with a scheduled rollout of TikTok Shop in Japan, following recent launches in France, Germany, and Italy. With Japan’s strong mobile usage and social commerce demand, the expansion might redefine Japan’s eCommerce landscape.

Rabbit’s tech-led, hyperlocal approach is a complete fit for Saudi Vision 2030โ€”prioritizing SME development, digitalization, and local sourcing.

๐Œ๐‘ ๐๐Ž๐‘๐“๐„๐‘ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐…๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐š๐œ๐ค ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐š๐ง๐ ๐‘๐ž๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ

Fashion industry folks, listen up. Toby Bateman comes back as MR PORTER CEO, with Jeremy Langmead returning as Brand Director. They’re bringing back the platform’s original vision of being a worldwide leader in luxury menswear, content, and commerce.

New chapter in the works, with a concentration on luxury, curation, and cutting-edge digital storytelling.

๐”๐€๐„'๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐œ๐ก๐ข๐จ ๐’๐ฉ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ ๐…๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ณ๐ฒ: "๐ƒ๐ฎ๐›๐š๐ข ๐‚๐ก๐จ๐œ๐จ๐ฅ๐š๐ญ๐ž" ๐†๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐•๐ข๐ซ๐š๐ฅ

What began on TikTok has become a full-blown retail mania. The “Dubai Chocolate” trendโ€”focused on pistachio spreadโ€”has blown up on UAE retailers such as noon Minutes and Amazon.ae, with numerous SKUs selling out within hours.


From luxe collabs and house labels to pistachio-flavored ice cream, donuts, and holiday treats, this trend is fueling double-digit growth and showing that viral + food = serious commercial clout.

๐ƒ๐‡๐‹ ๐‡๐š๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐”.๐’. ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ ๐’๐ก๐ข๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐Ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ $๐Ÿ–๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ

DHL Express suspended international shipments over $800 to U.S. consumers for the time being as new customs regulations come into effect. The formal entry threshold has been lowered from $2,500 to the current level, necessitating stricter processing.

Shipments under $800 are unaffected, while B2B shipments might experience short-term delays as the market adjusts.

๐ƒ๐ฎ๐›๐š๐ข ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ž๐ซ๐‚๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ž๐ง.๐š๐ข & ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐: ๐€๐ˆ ๐Œ๐ž๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ ๐“๐ซ๐š๐๐ž

Dubai CommerCity has joined forces with AI pioneers queen.ai and Portmind during Dubai AI Week to revolutionize the digital trade landscape. The collaborations will make everything from customer outreach to supply chain management seamless, ushering in an era of frictionless, personalized eCommerce.

This is a radical step in intelligent commerce, demonstrating the potential of data and AI to power quicker, more responsive trade at a national level.

๐€๐ฆ๐š๐ณ๐จ๐ง ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐ž๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐๐ž๐š๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐…๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ญ ๐‚๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž

Amazon raises the bar in beauty with a new premium skincare storefront that includes brands such as Caudalie, La Roche-Posay, and Dermalogica. Customers can now sort by skin type, ingredient, or brandโ€”and see an Aโ€“Z ingredient guide for education-led shopping.


It’s all part of Amazon’s drive to be the most trusted beauty destination for both daily essentials and luxury skincare.

๐™๐€๐“๐‚๐€ ๐Ž๐Š๐ฌ ๐’๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐Ÿ๐ข๐œ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐•๐€๐“ ๐€๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐’๐š๐ฎ๐๐ข ๐€๐ซ๐š๐›๐ข๐š

The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) of Saudi Arabia has approved significant amendments to its VAT Implementing Regulations. The revisions explain compliance for the creation of VAT groups, corrections in tax, and special cases such as government grants and TOGC (transfer of going concern).


Companies have 180 days to catch up. Finance and legal departments must move quickly to learn about and react to the changes.

๐…๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ค๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐Œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐š๐ง๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ˆ๐ง๐๐ข๐š ๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ˆ๐๐Ž

Walmart-backed Flipkart is shifting its holding company from Singapore to India in preparation for an IPO. The move comes on the heels of a wave of Indian unicornsโ€”PhonePe, Razorpay, Zeptoโ€”flying back home for more favorable domestic listing prospects.
A return that betrays faith in India’s capital markets and regulatory changes.

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