After several years of development, the UAE has become the country with the highest growth rate of B2C e-commerce in the Middle East in recent years. It is expected that by 2018, the e-commerce market in the UAE will reach a scale of 10 billion US dollars. As an international country, the construction of Internet infrastructure and the penetration rate of smart mobile devices in the UAE are both in a leading position in the Middle East. As of 2015, the local Internet penetration rate reached 70%, and the penetration rate of mobile phones reached 71%. In addition, local consumers’ online consumption methods are relatively advanced, and about 50% of buyers will choose to shop on smart mobile devices. These indicators have laid a good foundation for the further development of local e-commerce. As a country with an outward-looking population structure, the needs of UAE consumers are diverse. According to statistics, clothing, accessories, shoes, mobile phones, electronic products, toys and other products are most popular among local consumers. With the popularization and improvement of smart mobile devices and payment systems in the UAE, local e-commerce will have greater development potential in the future.
Due to the dual influence of Islamic culture and Arab culture, the lifestyles of people in Arabic-speaking countries are marked by these two cultures.
As a country dominated by Islam, Muslims in the UAE need to face the direction of the holy city of Mecca to pray at a specific time every day to show their piety to Allah. There will be marks pointing to the holy city of Mecca on the ground or on the walls in specific directions in local public places, so that Muslims can worship Allah at the time of prayer. In public places, Muslims only need to kneel directly on the ground to pray to Allah. But if they pray at home, they will be more particular. When praying in the house, the ground used for worship is an indispensable item for Muslims in the UAE. Prayer carpets are holy and inviolable for Muslims. They believe that worshiping Allah should be done on a clean and tidy prayer ground to better reflect their piety. Therefore, every Muslim home in the UAE will have a prayer carpet facing the holy city of Mecca.
At the same time, because the lives of the UAE people are influenced by Arab culture, in addition to the prayer carpet, there will be another carpet in the home. In Arab culture, Arabs like to sit on the ground, so the homes of UAE people will have a carpet specifically for sitting, talking or eating. For the people of the United Arab Emirates, these carpets have gone beyond the scope of decoration. In their eyes, they are more like furniture in daily life.
But whether it is a prayer carpet or a daily carpet, Muslims in the United Arab Emirates will be influenced by Islamic customs. In Islamic culture, purple, yellow and floral colors are taboo colors. When choosing carpets, local people will choose carpets with auspicious colors such as crimson, dark blue and gold. In terms of patterns and patterns, people tend to choose carpets with regular and symmetrical colors and patterns to avoid the appearance of floral colors caused by patterns. The people of the United Arab Emirates are also particular about the material of the carpet. The materials of the carpet are generally silk, semi-silk and polyester. Locals generally choose silk or semi-silk carpets because carpets of this material can reflect a luxurious taste. However, polyester carpets also have their market. Due to their high cost performance and low wear and tear, carpets of this material also have a considerable market in the local area.