Iranian government authorities say the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions imposed to contain the virus have caused a major boom in electronic commerce in the country.
Head of the e-commerce office of the Iranian industries ministry (MIMT) said on Saturday that the sector had grown by 236 percent since the infection began to spread in Iran in late February.
Ali Rahbari did not elaborate on exact growth figures related to more than five months that have passed since the start of calendar year in Iran.
However, Rahbari said that the value of e-commerce transactions in Iran had grown year on year in late March by over 103 percent to reach 4,230 trillion rials ($18.4 billion), of which nearly 2,960 trillion rials had been processed through online payment gateways.
The official said the nominal and real share of e-commerce activities in Iran to the country’s total gross domestic product (GDP) had increased by 50% and 40%, respectively, over the past calendar year.
He said the number of jobs in the e-commerce sector had increased by 80 percent over the same period, adding that employment in the sector currently accounts for 11 percent of total jobs in the Iranian economy.
Iran has 61,000 certified e-commerce businesses while the number of websites offering various services across the sector has topped 300,000, said Rahbari, adding that the number of e-commerce units in Iran increased by 11 percent year on year in late March.
Over 42 percent of Iranian e-businesses are solely focused on sale of goods while the share of services sector is 34 percent, said the MIMT official, adding that the rest of websites offer services in both categories.
He said social media outlets accounted for 68 percent of sales and services delivered through websites over the last calendar year, followed by mobile applications on 26 percent and messengers on six percent.