India-born discount coupon aggregator Zoutons, which has operations in the UAE, is set to go local with an Arabic version of its site as part of an aggressive expansion plan in the Middle East region.
The digital media startup is also in the process of sewing up a series of merchant partnerships in the region to expand its customer base in a big way.
The venture has already on-boarded some of the leading brands in the Middle East such as Noon, Carrefour, Nike, Adidas and Sephora.
“The Middle Eastern market is huge and so are the opportunities for online buyers. This will be among the focus markets for our planned international expansion,” Siddharth Arya, co-founder of Zoutons, told Arabian Business.
“With our move to go local with an Arabic version of the site, we are hoping to reach each home in the Middle East for providing best offers and coupons,” Arya said.
Zouton is currently understood to be in talks with leading b2b affiliate groups in the region such as Alshaya Group and CPX for partnership deals.
Besides, it is also now in talks with many of the affiliates of some of the b2b players like ArabyAds for on-boarding more of their retail outlet clients onto the company site.
Zoutons, which entered the UAE market in 2020, will be launching its Arabic language site in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the initial phase.
“We also have plans to launch the site in other markets in the Middle East region in a phased manner,” Arya said.
He said visitors who have set Arabic language as their first priority in the Google search will be redirected automatically to an entirely new website – Zoutons.ae – to provide the best deals and coupons for online shopping.
Arya said besides coupons and vouchers for various online retailers, the visitors on the company site will also be provided with the latest news and updates about their favorite stores along with details about the ongoing and upcoming sales in the MENA region.
Arya said Zouton currently has tie-ups with more than 500 brands across industries – ranging from travel to fashion to groceries – and planned to add more from the Middle East region soon.
Besides UAE and India, Zouton also operates in the US.
The company said it has more than three million registered across its operations.
Zouton’s move to go local is seen as a strategic move to quickly expand in the region in the wake of a massive growth in e-commerce in the GCC and the wider MENA region, making more and more Arab retailers to shift significant part of their businesses online.
While biggest online retailers in the region such as Noon, Amazon and Shein have grown their online sites in a big way to push the e-commerce business, most of the traditional brick-and-mortar retailers are currently following suit to become omnichannel players.
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