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LONDON: A new online shopping platform is about to launch in the Kingdom to rival Amazon.
The $1 billion noon.com online shopping platform has just arrived in the UAE and ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ will be next.
But which will offer the best value for bargain-deprived Saudi shoppers?
We sent our very own secret shopper to purchase a basket of goods from Noon.com, and compare the prices with like-for-like products at Amazon’s US marketplace.
The Arab News online shopping trolley included 10 items picked at random and including electronics, footwear, phones and toys.
The results reveal that the upstart noon basket came to $2,024 compared — more than 10 percent cheaper than rival Amazon with a total cost of $2,273.45.
But analysts say the difference may be about noon.com stealing a march on its more established global competitor by offering attractive launch discounts.
Still, the arrival of fresh competition is expected to benefit shoppers across the region that have long been denied the online shopping choice of their counterparts in Europe, Asia and North America.
Noon is a joint venture between Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Public Investment Fund and the Kuwaiti franchise operator MH Alshaya.
The new site launched on Sept. 30 with offices in Dubai and Riyadh.