Saudi Arabia’s share of GCC e-commerce investment climbs to 93%

Saudi Arabia accounted for about 93 per cent of e-commerce investment across the Gulf Co-operation Council in 2025, up from 46 per cent in 2021.

The increase reflects the kingdom’s expanding role in the digital economy and its position as a regional centre for online commerce.

Despite the growth in investment, e-commerce represents only 11 per cent of the Gulf retail sector, leaving considerable room for further expansion.

The figures were presented during the New Geography of Growth session, organised in London by the RLC Global Forum in collaboration with Selfridges.

Discussions showed that e-commerce investment is moving beyond online retail into logistics, order fulfilment and digital infrastructure.

Online commerce across the GCC is also growing at a rate above global averages.

The session examined the Gulf’s expanding role in the international luxury goods industry, supported by strong domestic demand, continuing investment inflows and greater access to global markets.

Panos Linardos, chairman of the RLC Global Forum, said growth opportunities were becoming increasingly uneven between markets, industries and companies as investors became more selective.

He said businesses needed to understand why some sectors and companies were expanding faster while others experienced slower growth.

The forum will continue examining these differences under the theme “Unequal Futures” at its next meeting in Riyadh on February 1 and 2, 2027.

Deborah Aitken, senior retail analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said, “We continue to see growth across the Gulf countries, although this growth will be channeled differently than before. The recovery of tourism is likely to take longer, while domestic investment and the deployment of regional capital continue to grow.”