White Friday is emerging as one of the next biggest annual events in the country’s retail calendar. According to a recent survey, conducted by SaaS mobile marketing analytics platform – Appsflyer, over 24% of consumers across the UAE installed retail shopping apps on White Friday, dated, November 26 this year.

Another interesting finding that came forth is how in comparison to last year, the installs of these apps decreased by 41% this year on White Friday in the UAE. “This is a trend we witnessed in many other countries and is possibly a sign that people are now more comfortable returning to in-store retail as shoppers and to adjust the new normal,” justified Samer Saad, regional manager at AppsFlyer for the Middle East.

Despite app installs dropping compared to White Friday last year, the overall spending on them during this year actually increased by 43%. This suggests that the average spend per consumer is now higher than that in the previous year.

“There has been an increase in consumer confidence, given the UAE’s rapid recovery over the last 12 months and the positive impact that Expo 2020 and other government initiatives have had on the country’s economy. As a preferred touchpoint between customers and businesses, mobile apps present an essential and highly effective way for UAE organisations to capitalise on this favourable consumer sentiment. With 91% of UAE companies offering their customers a mobile app, this is a competitive space and mobile marketing is key to standing out and capturing valuable market share,” added Saad.

Conclusively, it is worth noting consumers are more comfortable using retail applications during popular shopping tenures, such as between February and April this year. Revenues through mobile e-commerce peaked by 105% ahead of Ramadan.