The region’s leading e-commerce portal and online megastore Souq.com has announced the official launch of its native mobile apps, available on both Android and iOS platforms.

The Apps, which are now available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, allows users to browse and buy from Souq.com’s selection of more than 400,000 products among the Consumer Electronics, Fashion, Health & Beauty and Household Goods categories, along with many others.

Wisam Daoud, CTO of Souq.com said: “We wanted to provide a seamless shopping experience for our customers across devices. The Arabic and English apps include the full set of browsing, searching, buying, and order tracking functionality as the website. Customers can now start shopping on one screen and easily finish on another.”

According to research conducted by IPSOS, the growing number of smartphone and tablet devices in use, is changing the purchasing habits of residents in the Middle East who are driven by a desire for convenience, the ease of getting information and the search for inexpensive products.

Due to the increased use of mobile devices, consumers are offered a greater number of channels through which they can shop for and purchase products. In the UAE specifically, e-commerce currently stands at 2.90Bn USD (10.7BnAED), and is expected to grow to 5.10Bn (USD 18.7Bn AED) in 2015. From its current base supported by high smartphone penetration, m-commerce is expected to grow to nearly 1.50Bn USD (5.5BnAED) by 2015, and will be driven up by a rise in tablet penetration and purchases.

Ronaldo Mouchawar, CEO of Souq.com said, “As mobile customers continue to grow and now represent 40% of all purchases on Souq.com, we felt the launch of our iPhone and Android apps complements and capitalizes on the growth of mobile commerce in the region. Mobile Apps build relationships, loyalty, reinforce our brand, our accessibility and above all, provide a better service to our customers.”