Hiba Fayad Project Manager

Al-Iktissad Wal-Aamal DGTL#U – Beirut

November 7th and 8th, 2013

Consumers Digital Trends

Lebanese Consumer Adoption of Online Banking and Online Retailing

DGTL#U - Beirut November 2013

The Survey

• Evaluate the appetite of Lebanon consumers for online products

• Explore their online habits when it comes to shopping and banking

• Identify the future trends in the sector • Shed light on the challenges hindering

businesses

The Sample

• 500 internet users in Lebanon • Both males (50.5%) and females (49.5%) • Although the survey sample covers all age

groups, 48% of respondents are 25 to 35 years old and 90% are economically active and earning an income while almost 10% are still students as illustrated in the demographic graphs below

• Survey respondents have bank accounts in all major top 10 banks in Lebanon

How Connected Are Lebanese Consumers?

• 97.4% of surveyed individuals connect to the internet on a daily basis from home (89.9%) or at work (85.6%) and 92.5% use their Smartphone to browse the internet.

• When it comes to social media presence, 96.5% of survey respondents have an account in at least one social network.

• While Facebook still accounts for the highest penetration (94.5%) and the highest usage frequency (81.6% connecting daily), LinkedIn (79%) and twitter (73.5%) are fast catching up with Instagram (59%) and Google+ (58%) close behind.

FOCUS ON INSTAGRAM! Recommendation

Who uses smart phones browsing?

• 50.8% of respondents aged between 25-35 years old answered yes, 71.7% of them are employees

• 50% are male and 50% are female • Only 28.6% of the mentioned age range who

don't use their phones for browsing • 24 years old or younger rarely use their phone

for browsing.

Happy Shopping Online? • Shopping online is no longer a privilege of technology

savvy consumers • 3 out of 4 internet users that are employees in

Lebanon (73.5%) say they buy products online. • 41.7% of the survey respondents indicated that they

shop online at least once a month. • A trend which is largely led by the 25-35 years old age

segment who are employees (72%) and of which 53.5% are male and 46.5% female.

• The results also indicate that 13.3% shop online at least once a week, while 40% of respondents shop online 3-5 times a year!

Happy Shopping Online?

• Mobile Apps and Airline tickets seem to be at the forefront of consumer online shopping favorites.

• Entertainment products, such as games, movies and books seem to score high on online favorites as well.

• Shopping online for electronics seems to be trendy as well

• Only 23.3% of respondents engage in online shopping for clothes.

• Cosmetics, groceries, home furniture, office supplies and sports equipment rarely make it to online baskets of consumers!

Local vs. International

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20

40

60

80

100

120

2011 2013

Local sites International sites

Taking things seriously

Comments: • High value goods never leave the customs • Differentiate between personal and

commercial use of purchased phones • Phone registration process • Where is Paypal?

Internet Banking: Does your bank offer online banking solutions

85.3% said yes Surprisingly only one third (35.7%) report being frequent users of online banking 1 out of 4 (25%) say they use it sometimes 16.7% use it rarely and 22.6% don't use online banking at all

How connected are Lebanon’s Banks?

Increasingly active on social networks Unable to fully engage their customers

95.1% of Lebanon banks are active on

Facebook 22% have accounts on twitter Active on different platforms such as,

YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn.

How connected are Lebanon Banks?

• 57.5% say they do not interact with their banks on social media networks

• Only 42.5% like their bank's page on Facebook

• 10% who follow their banks on twitter

STOP YOUR PROMOTIONAL TWEETS! ANSWER YOUR CLIENTS

Recommendation

How connected are Lebanon’s Banks?

The situation is even more complex when it comes to mobile applications. Extra effort providing better offer through mobile Apps Failing at communicating properly on it

43.7% said they didn’t know whether their bank had a

mobile App 11.5% of respondents said their banks didn’t 44.8% confirmed their bank offered an App.

How connected are Lebanon Banks?

To make things worse, of those who said yes their bank has a mobile App, less than 1 out of 3 people (27.8%) said they didn’t download the App. 1/3 who actually downloaded it report using it rarely and mainly to check their balance (95.7%)

Final Thoughts

Rising demand of for online products and services Rising need for online banking and payment

solutions Banks struggling to reinforce their online

presence, strengthen their offer, build awareness around their solutions

Final Thoughts

Security concerns emerges as the most important hindrance Need for a better legislative framework Protecting both the individuals and the

institutions

Thank you

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