Did you know that 62 percent of UAE consumers shop online? Recently, people in the UAE have preferred to buy their needs online rather than visiting stores. However, they find it hard to identify the first-rated from the available 135 ecommerce apps. Say no more! We have provided you with the best online shopping apps in the UAE. And if you are wondering – yes, we have downloaded all of them to try ourselves.
How did we rank the online stores, though? Well, we made four categories and we have done a thorough research to rank the top 3 apps in each category. We used our local knowledge, affordability and variety of products, user-friendliness of the app and the experience in general to recommend the finest apps.
Best Online Stores for Shopping Electronics
Whether to replace faulty items or buy new ones, online electronics shopping is increasingly going the way of the web. Below, we have rounded up the top apps to buy electronics.
Amazon Online Electronics Store
It’s no secret that Amazon is the leading ecommerce site on the market, and it is not a different story in the UAE. It is the best online electronic shopping app in the UAE. Buying electronics from Amazon is an absolute delight. First, it’s very user-oriented with 24/7 customer support. They have made it one of their primary missions to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company”. Hence, if you are a person who frequently changes his/her mind after online shopping, this site should be your friend.
Amazon’s shopping app is always appreciated by customers for superior refund and return policies, extremely fast services, and free shipping. Secondly, Amazon has a broad range of electronics you can buy from. Even the arrow on their logo implies they have everything from A to Z. Additionally, they have 100% original electronics. Recently, Amazon has started a new business model where big brand names such as Samsung, Apple and Huawei create shopping rooms inside amazon. Therefore, you can find any brand you want there and this should save you a lot of time than visiting offline stores in person.
Carrefour Online Electronics and Appliances Shop
Carrefour has been operating in the UAE since 1995 and has definitely built a reputation for its excellent product quality, low prices and convenience in general. It is one of the most famous online shopping sites in the UAE. Many customers considered it as a perfect online store to buy electronics and it absolutely made our top three list.
Carrefour has a well-designed app which provides a one-of-a-kind shopping experience. The app has smartly integrated features which predicts your needs effectively – this makes online shopping easy and time-efficient. Additionally, it is embedded with trending technologies such as City+ and Carrefour Scan & go; these may be useful if you want to add some items from their physical store. Carrefour is especially a great shopping application to find promotional offers on electronics. It’s mid-year sales, 3-day flash sales, yearly mega-sales and more, makes it a sin not to use the app.
Noon Online Electronics Store
Noon is one of the biggest online retail stores. It is also one of the trending com shopping sites in the UAE. The app has an excellent user interface, and the design is well suited for smartphones. Additionally, Noon has the best quality and widest range of products. They also collaborate with local banks and electronics brands such as Samsung and Redmi to frequently offer huge discounts. Nonetheless, their after-sale service is poor at times. Customers are dissatisfied with their customer service and unsatisfactory return policies. Electronics should be easier to return than Groceries and Fashion items, however, Noon will most probably refund you in the form of store credit. Apart from this, Noon is a local pride who managed to establish its name in the front of online shopping. If you are completely sure about the electronics you want to buy online, this should be your go-to application.
Best Online Apps for Grocery Shopping
At just the tap of a finger, shopping groceries online has become effortless nowadays. You can order vegetables for your dinner or your favorite snacks, and they will be at your doorsteps in no time. For grocery shopping we found three excellent apps that we fell in love with. These online shopping apps are picked based on customer service, product affordability and app convenience.
InstaShop Online Groceries Shopping
InstaShop is a remarkable app to shop groceries online. It will make your life in the UAE easier – it definitely did ours. Instashop delivers your groceries right at your door within the hour. The app combines multiple shops and grocery stores in UAE. It has a superb design where grocery items are broken down into over 20 categories such as dairy and eggs, pets supplies, beauty and butcheries etc. Under each category there are multiple shops and stores that are within the reach of your location and each shop shows estimated arrival time. This app is ranked first as it checks all boxes.
Anyone who has used InstaShop before for online shopping will agree that its user interface is brilliantly done. The design is seamless and efficient which makes it extremely easy to navigate through the application. The price of their groceries is very reasonable too. Moreover, they are one of the few online shops that communicates well with their customers. InstaShop advises you to stay close to your phone in case they want to send you updates regarding your order. They would call you to recommend alternatives with the same price if ordered products run out of stock. Lastly, if you face any inconvenience regarding your order, the customer service is very responsive and will quickly resolve whatever the issue is.
Talabat UAE Grocery Delivery
Talabat is a popular grocery shopping app in UAE. It first started out as a food delivery app but evolved to include groceries too. Talabat includes many shops that it delivers from, but it also has the Talabat mart as an option. In the Talabat mart section, you can get some products that are usually not available in other stores – this shows the high variety and availability of products.
We have been using Talabat online shopping app for a long time and they always find a way to make our orders available. Since the app has a variety of products to offer, price affordability goes without saying. You can choose from a broad range of prices and go with the one you can manage. In addition, Talabat is a very user-friendly shopping app – it’s easy to browse and order. Nonetheless, Talabat has major drawbacks. We found that their customer service is not as expected. When we tried to return an item, they actually insisted to reimburse us through in app credit rather than return money. Though it has a lot of good services to offer, it definitely lacks a customer friendly environment.
Daily Online Groceries Shopping
Daily is another online shopping app in the UAE. It is primarily great for shopping organic food online. In this app you have the choice to order your grocery needs, but usually not for the same day. This might cause huge inconvenience for customers. However, the online application delivers from several suppliers, therefore there is a variety of products to choose from. Other than that, since it has a diverse range of products, it enables a selection of affordable prices on most products.
As for the difficulty of navigating through the app, it is not as easy as the other two to search and navigate products. This is one of the main reasons that it is ranked third. Whilst the view looks great, the search properties of the application are not as precise and clear as the other two. Sometimes the product we are looking for could be available, yet we will not be able to find it because we did not correctly type the exact product or brand name. This is a major shortcoming from the app. In sum, Daily needs to improve its customer shopping experience even so they provide premium grocery products.
Find more information in our exclusive blog about Online Grocery Shopping in UAE.
Best Online Apps for Sportswear and Equipment Shopping
Gear up and add motivation for your work-out with the top three applications that provide a variety of sportswear that will make you sweat in style.
Adidas Online Store
Adidas is one of the top sport brands in the UAE. With over 30 stores, it offers multi-sports equipment and the latest gear for different types of sports such as football, basketball, training, swimming, running, golf and tennis. Aside from their official online shop, their products are sold on many popular online sportswear stores in the UAE. Addias shopping app is on another level. Once you install and open the app, it will ask you to choose your preference (Menswear, Womenswear or Kidswear) – that will be set as default.
The interface design is top-notch. Animations and videos are embedded within the application that motivates online shoppers to continue using it. An unusual section in the application, called “On the Radar”, shows information about events in the area, forum Q&A and stores nearby. The application also includes a visual search which allows users to take a photo of shoes or shirt they like then upload and get a list of similar items. This should save a lot of time if you are not sure with the name of a specific model. Even if you did not like your order after it was delivered, you would be pleased with their fast customer service and easy refund policy. Such unique features make Adidas stand out among other online shopping apps.
We found that their products might be a little too expensive, however, it is totally worth it for such a gratifying shopping experience. Besides, they run frequent offers and promotional sales which you can benefit from if you are looking for a discount.
Nike Online Shopping Site
Nike is a top brand both internationally and within the UAE. A variety of sports goods can be found in Nike. It is known for its long-lasting and durable sporting accessories and equipment for football, running, basketball, skateboarding, golf, and surfing. Nike differs from other online sportswear shops by uniquely providing the playing kit of Paris Saint-Germain and other products for NBA and FC Barcelona followers.
On the negative side, signing in or joining as a new member is a requirement to use their shopping app. Prior to using its full features, the application also runs a set of questions to know what a user is interested in the most. The user interface is properly organized to the user’s liking. The home page which is named as “Discover” shows photos, videos, conversation, and broadcasts of people from all around the world. The “Shop” section is categorized for easy access to products of men and women, with the best sellers and must-haves at the top of the page. Featured, Shoes, Clothing, Sale, Accessories and equipment are some of the categories of the app.
Another thing we love about Nike’s online shopping app is their “Members Reward”. There are several rewards available for users who joined the Nike community. The benefits include Member-only sales days, Birthday Rewards and more. Overall, the application is extremely engaging, customer-centered and easy to navigate through. We found that it makes us eager to explore its endless features. Similar to Adidas, the items may not be comparably cheap, but pure quality and excellent service is guaranteed.
Sun & Sand Online Sportswear and Equipment Shop
One of the leading sportswear retailers in the Middle East, Sun & Sand Sports started its journey in the digital world with the launch of their official online shopping website in 2016. It is an authorized and official online retailer for a variety of sportswear brands in the UAE. Sun & Sand works directly with big brands to ensure that all items are 100% genuine and available in the region. Hence, you do not have to worry about the quality of their products. The list of brands in their shopping app include New Balance, Columbia, Under Armour, Jordan, Adidas, Converse, Puma, Reebok, The North Face and Timberland.
The application is somewhat organized, and all the main items are arranged on the home page, making it easily accessible and quick to find. “Top trending brands” along with “Pick Your Sport” are also listed, allowing users to choose the sport and brand they want to shop from. This is a great function of the Sun & Sand ecommerce app. It feels like all sportswear brands are at your fingertip. However, we found that dealing with their customer service is tiresome. Consequently, it may be inconvenient for customers who do not want to take too much time shopping online. Although it claims to be the No.1 online sports retailer in the UAE, it does not quite meet all requirements yet.
Best Online Shops for Shopping Fashion
In order to present our top three apps related to fashion, we evaluated several online shopping apps in the UAE. Beside using them ourselves first-hand, we also conducted preliminary research through a large number of UAE shopping apps reviews. Our top three picks are as follows
Namshi Online Shopping
While many ecommerce apps and sites are available in UAE, this application is about non-negotiable quality. Premium fashion brands such as Forever21 and Mango have their items sold online in the app. Namshi offers high-grade products, hence, their prices might not always be affordable. But don’t worry! Namshi always has big shopping offers and discounts. Nearly everything we bought from Namshi was on sale. Just when you open the app, you will be greeted with a 30% coupon code. You can use this code in your first order.
We have used Namshi forever and we are satisfied with the shopping experience we had. It is worth every time and money spent. Your online orders are already dispatched the next day and you will also have a smooth return process if you need to. When you are shopping online from Dubai, you might even get your order within two hours. Their fast customer service is always praised by users. If you face any issues with your orders, you can contact their help desk, and they will call you with a solution in no time. Also, the app design heightens your shopping experience. We highly recommend this app for shopping fashion online in the UAE.
Noon Online Fashion Stores
In an overall sense, we are very happy with the shopping experience and have given it a very high rating in comparison to other UAE shopping apps. Noon has really done well, especially when it comes to fashion. Their online fashion collection has a local touch with so many Middle Eastern or Arab brands. When looking for desired items on the application, the results are impressively accurate, mainly in the top search results. Therefore, it is fair to say that the results displayed for search queries are very relevant.
This application allows you to narrow down to your desired array of items swiftly. Navigating through the app is smooth and intuitive. The prices are fairly reasonable, and attractive discounts and offers are available quite often. Noon has a variety of products on their online store, and the products you purchase are genuinely of high quality – this cannot be said for most UAE online shopping apps. Another thing we guarantee that you will like about Noon is their package handling. Products are properly packed and delivered safely. In sum, If you are looking to fill your wardrobe with quality international and local Arabian brands, you should go with Noon.
Amazon Online Fashion Sales
Amazon almost always offers cheaper rates compared to all other shopping apps in UAE, including Noon. We are quite satisfied with it; mainly because of the slashed shopping rates it offers. Additionally, an extra feature of “full query autocomplete suggestions” is present on this application though the filtered results displayed are not as accurate as Noon’s. Moreover, the accuracy tends to reduce much more drastically as we scroll down.
While the ecommerce app is very user-friendly, it does not offer advanced filtering options in fashion products. Thus, we believe that there is a noticeable room for improvement regarding this aspect. Like Noon, Amazon has a very large variety of products, but it does not offer local fashion items adequately. In addition, we have encountered some inferior-quality products from Amazon selling partners. Our research also showed that they are frequently criticized for not conducting better quality checks of fashion products that came from their suppliers.
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