Dubai-based ecommerce platform Noon is set to launch ‘online auctions’ functionality in Saudi and UAE in the next few weeks, Arabian Business has reported citing a source close to the development.
The source, speaking to Arabian Business, said that the company is still finalizing the mechanism of how the bidding will work, but the functionality will make it easy for businesses and sellers to conduct these transactions, “everything will be quick and most importantly transparent.”
It is not the first time that a regional ecommerce player is taking a shot at this. In fact, this is how Souq, the largest ecommerce platform of the region had originally started in 2005 but eventually changed its model.
“Noon has the advantage of partnerships with a number of local retailers – not just the large business houses but also startups and SMEs,” the source told Arabian Business. “There will be regular listings, reverse price auctions, Dutch auctions, flash sales, featured items – everything that will bring value to both buyers and sellers.”
“The important factors in any online sale is immediacy and quality; customers must receive their product at the fastest possible time and as per the quality they expect. Also, online auction must benefit both the seller and buyer,” said the source.
As we don’t really have a big regional player in this space right now, Noon could win big if it works for them. If it doesn’t, they’ll just end up losing some money which should not be a big deal to a company that has reportedly raised more than a billion dollar in funding.
