1/5 of Internet users in Jordan shop online

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) Out of 1.5 million Internet users in Jordan, around 300,000 people buy some of their products through online shopping, according to an official.

"This figure indicates that a large part of the e-commerce sector in the Kingdom is not used," Yarub Qudah, the chief executive officer of the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO), told participants in a workshop organized Tuesday by JEDCO to introduce Jordanian companies to e-commerce techniques and basics.

Qudah said: "We need to increase awareness among businesses in Jordan about this marketing channel to increase their sales and expand their markets."

Representatives from over 50 companies took part in the workshop, during which German e-commerce expert Tobias R�ckert talked about the international e-commerce.

In explaining how to sell products and services through the Internet, R�ckert indicated that consumers can make transactions by developing their own websites; a process he described as cost effective for companies and offering quality products to customers at cheaper prices.

Qudah stressed that new marketing tools are needed to increase sales abroad despite a sharp increase in Jordanian exports during the past five years and the flexibility of the economy and diversification of markets and products.

"Exports are the main pillar of the Jordanian economy and the private sector should not depend on traditional tools to market their products," he said, noting that JEDCO will be organizing another workshop to connect companies in the country with international shopping websites.

He referred to the National E-commerce Strategy launched in 2007 to promote the use of e-commerce throughout the industrial sector and to identify the barriers that hinder the use of such marketing channel.

"The strategy should address hurdles related to law and regulations such as the lack of a certification authority for e-signatures under the e-transaction law," he indicated.

Other obstacles, he mentioned, are lack of electronic system, lack of trust in e-commerce in the Jordanian culture in addition to customs, skills and tax issues.

By Omar Obeidat