Halaal E-Commerce

The fact that e-commerce and online transactions have become a part of life for Muslim consumers across the globe many scholars have started to muse about the Halaal aspect of computer-based businesses. Even more so, since issues of Sharia compliance, legality and acceptability of e-commerce in Islam are crucial for Muslim entrepreneurs and start-ups whose number has been growing substantially over the past years. That said, a clear understanding and promotion of Halaal e-commerce would certainly let them benefit in their endeavors and also establish trust among Muslim consumers.

Muslims around the world spent more than $780bn on Internet shopping, according to latest available data from the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2018/19 report by Thomson Reuters. This represented close to 16% of the total digital economy, which is valued at roughly $2tn.
The Islamic digital economy is expected to reach revenues of more than $270bn by 2020, growing an average of 17% annually, whereby top countries for Muslim e-commerce spending are Turkey, the US, Malaysia, Egypt and Indonesia and the most prominent sectors are the sharing economy, social commerce, retail e-commerce including consumer goods and fashion, services such as Halaal travel and Halaal food delivery, as well as Islamic finance investment products.