Monah Mahmoud

The global e-commerce industry surpassed 10% of all retail sales in 2017. Growing four times quicker than retail as a whole, by 2020 it is forecast to drive half of all retail growth. 1. MENA e-commerce market is worth $8.3 billion, with significant room for growth In 2017, e-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) reached $8.3 billion, with an annual growth rate of 25%. It is forecast to hit $28.5bn by 2022, with a penetration rate of total retail sales of 7% with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Egypt accounting for 80% of the region’s e-commerce market. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the most advanced e-commerce market in the region, with a penetration rate of 4.2%, similar to that of Turkey and Brazil. Saudi Arabia (KSA), at 3.8%, closely follows the UAE and together they represent 60% of the e-commerce market in the region.   “This is primarily due to consumer digital readiness and the rising availability of online product selection in these m

It's taken a while, but Facebook is now rolling out its promised 'time spent' dashboard within its main app, enabling users to track the time they're active on Facebook each day, and set prompts to limit their use. As you can see from the above screenshots, the new dashboard is available within the functions listing, and through it, you can see your total time spent, set daily reminders, and change your settings to make better use of your time. The options are very similar to what Instagram launched last week, which are part of the broader 'digital wellbeing' push within tech circles that's been initiated in response to a range of reports about the potential negatives of overuse of digital platforms. Facebook itself commissioned a report  which  found that passive engagement on social can lead to negative mental health impacts. That finding puts Facebook, as a business, in a tough position - on one hand, it needs to make you come back to the platfo