Businesses need to use WhatsApp to communicate with their customers. That’s according to a new survey and report by Zbooni, which found that 85% of UAE residents would prefer to use WhatsApp to interact with companies. Zbooni commissioned YouGov to poll 1000 people across the Emirates, with WhatsApp ranking the highest in terms of speed, accuracy, and helpfulness for customers.

The survey is part of Zbooni’s 2024 MENA cCommerce Report, which dives deeper into how businesses and customers interact via ‘connected commerce’ such as chat and social channels.

Top findings from Zbooni’s public survey of UAE residents included:

• 87% of consumers want businesses to use a real person over a chatbot or AI.
• 85% of people want all businesses to offer WhatsApp for customer support.
• 88% think WhatsApp is the easiest way to get quick, accurate responses from a business.
• 84% of consumers agree that WhatsApp is more helpful than email when chatting to businesses.

WhatsApp was also the most utilized channel for contacting businesses, with 65% of UAE residents using it for a product or service inquiry in the past year. That compared to 55% using a call center, 48% using email, and less than 30% using social media inboxes.

Zbooni co-founder and CEO Ramy Assaf said, “Chatting over WhatsApp gets to the heart of the matter quickly and isn’t as offensive as sitting on-hold music, or as formal as email. With such strong demand from customers, it’s clear that UAE businesses should look at ways to use WhatsApp to improve customer experiences, and drive sales and retention.”