Exploring multichannel shopping environment in Oman

The multichannel shopping is gaining strength in different parts of world and even companies are acknowledging this fact and trying to reach consumers through multiple channels but in spite of high internet penetration in Oman ,the newly emerging e-commerce channel in Oman accounts to only 1% of total sales and it is still in a early stage where as the global e-commerce market will be around US$ 2 trillion by 2020 and have a share of 7.8% of all sales. In developed economies, e-commerce share ranges from 45-80%. This study which is first of its kind in the context of Oman will try to identify factors why multi channel shopping is not growing rapidly in Oman in spite of huge market potential and adoption of digital technology and it will also try to identify catalysts for the strong growth of multichannel shopping in this region .This study will be beneficial for the regional players & international players especially in e-commerce. The scope encapsulates the current level of consumer awareness and information about different channels of shopping present in Omani consumers with respect to different products and services offered by different companies. The trend of multi channel shopping is present in Omani consumers but it is very limited in percentage terms. The various factors responsible for consumer awareness are studied with the equal focus on factors responsible for multi channel shopping .The study also takes into account how informed or aware consumer take advantage of multi channel shopping environment.